


Orion

by the100clexa237



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: 3 years since mount weather, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No City of Light (The 100), Alternate Universe - No Praimfaya | Radiation Wave, Azgeda Clarke, Azgeda Clarke Griffin, Azgeda is actually not poor or starving in this, Azgeda! Clarke, Clexa, Clexa Endgame, Currently being rewritten as Orion 2.0, Everyone thinks Clarke is dead, F/F, F/M, Klark has a wolf, Klark is a badass now, Lexa Lives, M/M, Minor Character Death, Slow Burn Clarke Griffin/Lexa, a very long road to Clexa endgame, canon world but completely different season 3 onward, clarke doesn’t really care about the Arkers anymore, clarke is Klark now, clarke leaves after mount weather and doesn’t go back, like super slow burn, more plot centered, not much fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:07:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 74,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26831155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the100clexa237/pseuds/the100clexa237
Summary: Klark is the High General of Azgeda, second only to the Queen. It has been over three years since she left camp Jaha, and Klark has moved on from her life before Azgeda. She assumes her former people think she is dead, and Klark is content with that idea, finally happy where she is. Then, Azgeda gets summoned to go to war in the south to face a new threat alongside the rest of the coalition.Instead of sending her army, Queen Nia ignores the message as part of her plot to undermine the commander. The only way that the commander was getting Azgeda’s army was if she came for it herself. But she would never do that... right?(Orion is currently being rewritten as Orion 2.0, and it will be continued/ finished  there)
Relationships: Clarke Griffin & Lexa, Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Clarke Griffin/Ontari, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 182
Kudos: 687





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Welcome to another Azgeda! Clarke fic and I hope you like it!
> 
> (Disclaimer: the writing in the first few chapters is a little sloppy, I know. I swear it gets much better and I will be going over the earlier chapters once I get the time.)
> 
> Let me know if any mistakes so that I can fix them :)

November 2152  
  
Klark

The frigid winter air burned her cheeks as her war party rode briskly towards Anolia. With a hundred warriors at her back, High General Klark led her army back to the capital, the swift Azgeda wind whipping at their thick fur coats. Her warriors, fresh from another victory against the Raiders, sat hunched low over their horses for maximum warmth, a technique that Klark had taught them during a particularly cold season.

They had won against the Raiders with only five deaths, but the battle had still been long and grueling, as Queen Nia had ordered them to kill all the Raiders to set an example for the rest of the clans. While Klark did not care for unnecessary death, her attacks on the Raiders were certainly not without cause. The Raiders had been attacking her people for years, had killed _hundreds_ of her people, so she was remorseless in the wake of their slaughter. They had gotten what they’d deserved.

Once, she would have been destroyed by what she had done, but that Clarke was gone now, and this Klark was very well aquatinted with death. People had once called her Wanheda, the Commander of Death, after she pulled the lever in Mount Weather to save the delinquents, but she had left them all behind when she had left Camp Jaha to start over.

And she had, though in a decidedly unconventional manner. Klark had found a new family in two unexpected people: the man who captured her and the girl who had made her life hell. They were her true family, and though the Skaikru were her origins, she did not care for them like she once had.

Now, everyone she cared about was in Azgeda. Her people were the people of Azgeda, and Klark would protect them unconditionally. She cared deeply about the Azgedans and would protect her people at all costs. Whether from the Raiders, or any other enemy. And right now, the Raiders were their biggest threat.

Though the twelve clans - thirteen now that Skaikru had joined the coalition - could not attack each other without starting a war, there were people who had been exiled from the coalition that had banded together to form what the clans called the Raiders. While they did not attack much in the past, the frequency of attacks had increased dramatically in the past year. 

Now, they were a menace, and they would often ambush supply caravans or war parties in order to steal food and weapons. Occasionally even attacking a village, leaving every person there dead. Men, women, and children. There was a coalition wide hunt for any Raiders that dared enter their lands, breaking the decree of the commander. 

While anyone exiled from the the coalition was free to roam the lands unclaimed by the clans, if they dared enter any territory under the coalition, they would be killed immediately. Their lives had already been spared once; they would not be spared again.

So Klark and her warriors had killed them all, or at least all that had attacked several villages, which had totaled 150 gonas. This was not their first battle; Klark and her army had been hunting the raiders for over a year now, and while there were still some raiders out there, most had been killed by Klark and her army, earning her the recognition of every other clan. 

The other clans did not know it was someone that they all knew, though. As far as the rest of the coalition knew, Wanheda was dead, disappeared after saving them all from the mountain men, and the new High General of Azgeda was one to be feared and respected. Only a select few in Azgeda knew Klark’s true identity: the Queen and her two close friends. 

The number of raiders was now dramatically decreasing due to the success of Klark and her army. For unknown reasons, there had been an oddly large amount of people spared the death penalty in the past few years, so there had been more Raiders than ever before, which was probably the reason that they had been able to attack. 

The Commander had started sparing more people from the death penalty, though still exiling them out of her lands. While all murderers and rapists were still sentenced to death, many lesser crimes were punished by lashings or exile. Something had changed the commander to make her less harsh than before the war with Mount Weather. _Wouldn’t that have been a nice change three years ago when she left me to die_ , Klark laughed to herself. _How ironic that the commander would only change after that. Maybe leaving me had an effect on her._ Klark snorted, the warrior by her side giving her a quick glance. _As if_. Klark had moved on from that time in her life, and so had everyone else.

* * *

They rode through the day, the mountains and thick snow covered forests of Azgeda quickly flying by as the day passed. The frigid air burned any uncovered skin as they rode, and all of her men were wrapped in several layers. Her gonas, eager to return home to their own beds, became more alert as they neared the city. They were all ready to see their people once more. After a long three months at war, Klark was very eager to see Ontari and Roan again, as well as her wolf, Atlas, who was no doubt missing her greatly.

They crested the last hill, and soon Anolia came into view in the valley below them, the capitol easily visible in the bright snow. The castle stood many levels above the rest of the city, the magnificent home of the queen and her best warriors. Made up of 5 turrets of varying hight enclosed by high walls and large dark windows, the castle was a symbol of the power and wealth of the Azkwin. 

The city sat sprawled around it, stone and wooden buildings with snow covered roofs filling most spaces. A long cobblestone street paved the center of the city to the castle, the rest of the roads just packed dirt in the summer and snow for the rest of the year. Surrounded by a large wall, Anolia was highly protected and very well fortified.

Klark held up her right fist and the army behind her stopped immediately. They paused at the top of the hill for a brief second before she yelled, “Gyon au,” and marched the army into the valley and through the tall metal gates of the city that had just been opened by the guards. The gonas behind her arranged themselves into a narrow column- five gonas abreast- in order to fit the streets of Anolia without running over anyone.

Their people stood by the buildings, cheering for the return of the High General and her army as Klark marched her gonas through the city and towards the war camps that lied beside the castle. The wide cobbled streets of the capitol were filled with people, all crowded near the various shops to make room for the passing army. 

Klark was bombarded with the scents of delicious food and the sound of the various traders crafting their wares, and took note of the scent of fresh bread, reminding herself to get some this evening. 

The simple bustle of the city soothed Klark, reminding her of what she was fighting for: her people. While Queen Nia is far from a good person - perhaps even evil - the people of Azgeda are far from it. All that the other clans knew of Azgeda was the warriors and their experiences with them. They had never encountered any of the innocent villagers and farmers who made up much of the population.

Azgeda had the reputation as the fiercest and most bloodthirsty clan in the coalition because of the skill and hostility of the warriors that the other clans encountered. Unbeknownst to them, Queen Nia only ever sent her strongest and most fearsome warriors out of Azgeda, giving the illusion that all Azgedans were cruel and heartless. 

Fortunately for Klark, she had trained all of her own gonas herself, so they were smarter and fiercer then most other warriors, but also more compassionate. Her warriors were everything to her, and any loss deeply saddened her. Fortunately, they had only lost 15 gonas in the past two years. A record low for any army in Azgeda.

Brought back to the present by a particularly loud cheer, she continued to lead her warriors past the shops and up the street towards the castle, then left towards the war camp. The large brown tents were situated just to the left of the castle’s main road, easily accessible and nearby to both the city and the castle in case of an attack. 

The tents were the home to most of Anolia’s warriors, where they stayed to train when Azgeda was not at war. Some gonas had family in the city, but most came from small villages in various parts of Azgeda. They all lived in the barracks, excluding only the Generals, who lived in the castle.

Klark led her gonas through the entrance, then pulled her horse, Adrian, to the side to take him to her personal stable. The rest of her warriors continued on towards their own stables, where they each dismounted their horses and quickly removed all bags and weaponry, leaving the horses with food and water.  
  
Klark dismounted when she reached her stable, located near the entrance of the training camp. The stable hands took Adrian from her, and Klark walked out towards the castle to first see her friends, then give her report to Nia. 

Klark had gotten Adrian almost two years ago after she had become the High General through single combat. Klark’s horse had become important to her as both a skilled war horse and a companion countless times over. Tall with a jet black coat, Adrian was perfect for riding in the night undetected, his only defining characteristic being his white left hoof. Nia had gifted Adrian to her when he was a young horse, and Klark had trained him to perfection, with some guidance from Roan and Ontari.

She exited the camp once the stable hands had Adrian settled, quickly walking towards the castle to see her friends. She enjoyed a brief moment of tranquility as the bright sun shined on her face, and the cold breeze blew through her long blonde hair. Klark moved to the side as a brown horse trotted up behind her, blatantly ignoring Nia’s law that horses were not permitted on castle grounds in peacetime.

The rider wore Trikru leathers. _A messenger, then._ She sighed. _Nia will likely behead him for his ignorance._ Klark looked behind her to check for any witnesses, then, detecting none, she yelled, “Wait! You can’t be here!” The horse stalled as the rider turned and looked at her.

The man had short brown hair and a chiseled jaw, his light grey eyes looking at her curiously over a smattering of freckles. His horse, a similar shade to his hair, stood shorter than Adrian, though not by much. Klark walked a few steps closer to speak more quietly. “Queen Nia will behead most anyone who dares ride a horse on castle grounds. No leniency for ignorance, no matter the reason.” 

The man looked shocked, and Klark understood why: the Trikru laws were much more lenient. “There is a hitching post for the horses of any short term visitors a couple of paces back. You can tie your horse there, then walk to the entrance.” He still looked surprised, but turned to follow her advice. He paused, before stopping fully and looking back. “May I ask who you are? I am Damon kom Trikru, a messenger for Heda.” Klark knew she cannot reveal her name, as it would eventually make its way back to the ears of her people, so she simply smirked and said, “I am the High General of Azgeda.”

Damon looked shocked again, and she laughed to herself. “Do not worry, I will not tell The Queen this time. Make sure that your people know our laws before they come here, lest they are killed.” Damon nodded mutely and Klark turned to continue walking to the castle. “Wait!” Damon exclaimed, and Klark turned back. “I apologize, I just wanted to thank you for everything you have done by ridding the clans of the Raiders. I know that they primarily attack Azgedan villages, as they are the closest, but the attacks in the rest of the clans have almost stopped also.” 

Klark sighed. “I am glad that my actions have helped people, but the success is not mine alone to bear.” Damon looked expectant, but instead of elaborating, Klark turned to walk to the castle. She looked back as she walked. “Good luck with Queen Nia, Damon, and be sure to tell your fellow messengers about our laws.”

Walking up to the entrance, she breathed in deeply, her stoic mask falls into place as she entered the castle, concealing all emotion. The guards shut the doors behind her. While she could show emotion around her friends and her warriors, Klark concealed her emotions in any setting of high importance. Though, like with Damon today, she hasn’t needed to. Emotions make you too easy to read, and that could be dangerous, but being emotionless around the common people and messengers was often much more suspicious.

Klark walked through the dark granite hallways, the arched ceiling high above her. The meeting rooms were in the east tower, where Queen Nia and her generals met to discuss battle strategy and to assign missions. Nia always had the final say, but the Generals were allowed to add new ideas, to an extent. If a General, or anyone for that matter, dared undermine Queen Nia’s authority, they were killed brutally over the span of days, weeks for some. 

She headed towards the north tower where her residence was, passing by the sitting rooms. The sitting rooms were located by the library of Anolia, which lied in the south tower of the castle. Clean furs were draped over chairs and benches for extra comfort, the perfect place for reading outside her chambers, though she rarely did. Huge tapestries lined the walls, depicting the great wars and triumphant victories of the past, creating a pleasant feeling when in the room.

Eager to see her friends but not able to run as she desired, as it would be a breach of formality, Klark walked quickly to the end of the north hallway and up the stairs to the top floor, where she lived, the rooms of her family nearby. She considered Roan and Ontari to be her family, despite that they were not related by blood. 

Though they all had separate rooms, Klark’s were the biggest, as she was the thigh General, and therefore their main meeting location. Arriving at the landing, Klark put her key in the lock and opened it, stepping inside. Dropping her stoic expression, Klark smiles as she sees Ontari and Roan playing chess at the table, Atlas laying on his bed of furs. He looks up, sniffs the air, then before she could move, Klark was on her back, Atlas whining and licking her face. She laughed - though her head hurt - glad to be back.

Ontari and Roan stood above her, laughing as she tried to wrestle Atlas off. After a moment, she managed to get up and Roan pulled her into a tight hug. “I’m glad you’re back!” he said, “Life here has been so boring with only Ontari and this one,” gesturing at the wriggling mess that was Atlas, “for company.” Klark laughed while Ontari punched Roan in the shoulder. “Speak for yourself, asshole!” It just served to make Klark and Roan laugh even harder. 

Rolling her eyes, Ontari pulled Klark into a fierce hug. “I missed you too. Three months is way too long for you to be away.” Klark agreed wholeheartedly. “Fortunately, I should be home for the rest of the winter.” She smiled. “Do you want to go to the market? I smelled fresh bread on the way here.” Ontari gasped with joy, and Roan groaned. “I do not understand your obsessions with bread! It may not be common here, but it has no flavor to it!” Ontari and Klark ignored him, linking arms and walking towards the door. They stopped at the threshold and Klark turned around and looked at Roan expectantly. He sighed dramatically and put on his fur coat. “ _Fine_ , let’s go to the market.”

They walked out of the castle together, the guards closing the great doors in unison behind them. The city sprung up before them, the small buildings so different than the ones Klark had seen while in Trikru lands. In Azgeda, most had stone walls and wooden roofs, while in Trikru, everything was made of wood. 

Pushing unpleasant thoughts out of her head, Klark led Ontari and Roan to the shop she had noticed on her way into the capitol. “It is three silvers for a loaf,” the vendor said, briefly glancing up at them. He looked back up immediately, gasping fearfully, and fell to his knees. “My prince! He looked at Klark and his face lit with recognition and fear once more, High General! Then looked to Ontari, General!” Klark thought the poor man was about to faint, whether from the shock or fear she did not know. “Please forgive me!” He begged, “I did not recognize you at first” Klark decided to put the poor man out of his misery, “it’s all right, we are simply here for some bread.” 

She took out six silver coins. “Two loaves please” He stood back up, looking absolutely horrified at her words, “I could not accept your money after everything that you have done for us, High General. Consider it a gift.” Klark thanked him for his gift, for it was rude to refuse one, and they walked back to the castle. Ontari snorted, “I guess there are some benefits to you being gone all the time after all. Free bread!” Klark shoved her, laughing. It was good to be home.

* * *

She woke to a pounding on her door. Quickly stepping out of bed, she opened the door to a breathless messenger. He quickly told her that Queen Nia demanded her presence in the throne room immediately, and Klark immediately got dressed into her fur lined tights and wool shirt, then put on her fur coat and weapons. Walking out of her room, she wondered what Nia wanted. 

Klark did not have to report to her until later today. _Maybe she already has another mission for me_ , but Klark quickly discounted that idea. She had only just returned, and there were other Generals. _It is probably just news or my progress._ Of course Nia would gladly wake Klark for something insignificant, but she had a feeling that today was something more important.

Klark walked down the stairs of her tower and through the dim hallways to the center of the castle, where the throne room was located. Stopping outside the huge double doors, she looked at the guards, and after a moment, they pulled open the doors and she walked in.

The high ceilings towered above Klark as she walked into the large room, dark tapestries draped on two of the walls while large windows covered the opposite side of the room. Queen Nia was seated on her throne in the center of the room, her dark clothes contrasting with the white bone crown on her head. 

Klark walked to an appropriate distance, then bowed. “My Queen. I hope I did not keep you waiting.” “We have more important things to discuss than your tardiness, General. A messenger has come delivering a letter from the commander. Apparently, the south is expecting a war.” Klark’s eyes widened. “A war?” _So that’s what Damon was here for._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, this is my first fic so let me know if there are any mistakes. I’ve had this idea stuck in my head for a while, but idk if it’s that great yet. Please leave comments/ kudos if I should keep writing it. The story will definitely have more than one chapter, but I’d like your inputs as there are not enough Azgeda Clarke fics yet.


	2. Chapter 2

**Announcement! The _italics_ are what each character is thinking. There will be other POVs in further chapters, but at the moment it’s just Klark’s thoughts. **

///////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  


November 2152

**Klark**

“A war?” Klark was shocked. She had just gotten back from one, and she was already being pulled into another? This was not something she wanted to deal with so early in the day. It was barely past dawn! “Apparently,” Nia responded, “the southern clans have managed to put themselves on the brink of yet another war, and Azgeda will have to aid them, even though it does not affect us.”   


A war was the last thing that Klark wanted, especially in the south, but she concealed her emotions, ready to follow Nia’s orders. “What will you have me do, my Queen?” Nia smirked at her, clearly plotting something. “Nothing.”  _ Well that’s certainly unexpected.  _ “My Queen ?”  Klark knew that Nia loved war, but yet she did not want Azgeda to join this one?  _It’s not like we have a choice. We will be forced to fight in this new war anyway, per the laws of the coalition._ Queen Nia would never choose to abstain from war without an ulterior motive.  _She probably has a crazy plan to undermine the commander or something._ Nia smirked wider. “I have a plan to undermine the commander.” Klark sighed to herself silently. _Of course she does_.

Klark knew that it was nearly impossible to evade a direct order from the commander. Lexa was unfortunately too smart, and somehow always knew when a clan was not following her orders. At least that is what her gonas said. Klark had not left Azgeda since she arrived, more than three years ago, but many of her warriors had, and she looked to them for information. “May I know your plan, my Queen?” Klark asked in a deferential manner, too curious to dare question her. That could come later. “It will be discussed later in the generals meeting, where I will explain my plan to all generals at once,” Nia said.   


Klark was disappointed that she had to wait, but it was to be expected. “Of course, my Queen.” Klark moved to leave the room, but was called back quickly. “General.” Klark looked back at Nia. “Your report on the Raiders?” “Of course, My Queen, apologies.” Klark walked closer, then stood with her hands behind her back, facing the grey throne.

“After leaving Anolia, we spent a few weeks tracking some Raiders that had just entered Azgeda. It was a small group that had just ransacked a village. They had left fourteen people dead, most homes destroyed, and several buildings were on fire. After tracking them down, I led my gonas to the Raiders’ camp in the middle of the night where we killed everyone, leaving the bodies unburned as you ordered, my Queen, as a sign to the other clans.   


We continued to patrol the borders, killing any Raider that dared enter Azgeda for over a month. Then, about three weeks ago, we came across the largest group of tracks that I had ever seen. We quickly got on their trail, but came across three decimated villages on the way. Four hundred and thirty seven Azgedan people were killed by the group of raiders in three days.” This had shocked both Klark and her warriors, as the numbers were incredibly high. 

“After days of traveling, we found their camp. Over a hundred and fifty criminals that had re entered Azgeda together. It seemed like they were heading to the southern clans, but Azgeda deserved revenge for all of our losses. I conferenced with my head officers, and we decided to attack in the morning so that the gonas could get the vengeance they desired.” 

The raiders had killed hundreds of her people, and had doubtlessly deserved to die, but the way they were killed was... far from gentle. She had given her warriors almost free reign over the battle, with only minimal restrictions to sate the bloodlust her warriors had after they’d discovered the decimated villages. Many Raiders had died some of the most horrible deaths imaginable during the short time that the fight had lasted. Klark had simply killed them, but some of her warriors had found their dead relatives in the destroyed villages, and they took their anger out on their destroyers: the Raiders.   


She continued speaking. “Though we had similar numbers, many of the Raiders were untrained and no match for my gonas. My warriors set upon them with a ferocity I had never seen in them. Merciless in their killing, my warriors made sure that every raider suffered a long, gruesome death.” Nia looked very satisfied at that fact.

“Losing only five men, we left the Raider’s camp burned to the ground, all of them left dead, laid in piles outside the walls.” Klark did not mention the three raider children that she had let go after pointing them in the direction of the southern clans. They would probably die on the way, but at least they had a chance to live. “Then, we spent a week traveling back to Anolia, arriving yesterday.” A great many details were omitted, such as how her warriors had helped to rebuild the attacked villages, hunting enough food so that the villagers wouldn’t starve. Klark had added that to the travel time, as Nia would not have approved.

As for how they treated the raiders, Klark knew that they should have burned the bodies as respect for the dead, but she was obligated to follow Nia’s orders, and it  _would_ send a strong message. No clan would dare threaten them after Klark’s display of the strength of Azgeda. ThoughKlark knew that almost nobody knew that Wanheda was still alive, the commander of death had doubtlessly made an appearance.

For now, all that the other clans would know was that the Raiders were mostly decimated by Azgeda’s unnamed High General and their army, who even the other clans had begun to fear. Klark and her army were undefeated, even after two years of nonstop violence at the borders, and the other clans were quickly gaining respect for Azgeda, as their new High General was not one to be trifled with. 

Nia nodded her head once. “Well done. And you made sure that the raiders camp was near enough to the southern border that they would be found?” “Yes, my Queen. A Trikru patrol will no doubt find what is left of the raiders.” “Good.” Nia said. “ _Now_ you may go.”

Taking the dismissal, she bowed, then turned on her heel and walked out the door. She was lucky she hadn’t gotten a lashing for her insubordination. Leaving before directed? Klark shook her head.  _Idiot_.

Walking back to her rooms, Klark wondered what Nia’s plot was. It would have to be clever if they wished to evade the war. And though Nia was far from a kind ruler, she  _was_ clever. If Queen Nia wished to undermine Heda’s authority by not participating in the war, Klark would not object. It was a good idea, even if Klark’s reasoning was more due to the fact that she just wanted to stay home in Azgeda, though she spared no love for the treacherous commander either.

Though there had been other factors, Lexa’s betrayal had been the final straw that forced Klark to leave Camp Jaha forever, as she could not bear to see the people she had committed genocide for. They would have forever reminded Klark of her actions in Mount Weather. She hoped that Nia had a good plan, for Klark did not want to see her former people, or the Commander. Especially the Commander. 

Klark had thought that they were becoming friends, though Lexa had apparently thought of her as more, so her betrayal was very unexpected. They could have found a better way, together, but of course Lexa just  _had_ to make Klark completely responsible for the death of 384 mostly innocent people. An entire society dead at the pull of a lever. She sighed at the memory. Hopefully Azgeda could avoid the summons, and perhaps Klark would not have to go to war so soon after all.  


* * *

Returning back to her chambers, Klark walked up the spiral staircase of the North Tower. The generals meeting was soon, but Klark needed to wash up, as she hadn’t had time for a bath when she returned yesterday. Walking into her rooms, a wall of white fur leaped towards her and almost knocked her down for the second time in two days. Atlas rubbed his head against her, happy to see Klark back so soon. She grinned and knelt down to rub his soft fur, glad to see him.  _I will take him with me the next time I leave._ Atlas could take down many trained warriors at once, so at least she had a viable reason to take him along.

A few moments later, Klark stood up and walked to the wall by the table where she rang the bell that called her maid, Teresa. Immediately, Teresa came through the servants door and bowed. “High General, how may I be of service?” Klark smiled at her, surprised at her speed. “I would like to take a bath.” Teresa nodded. “Of course, High General. I will draw the bath and it should be ready shortly.” Klark nodded her assent, and while Teresa went to draw the bath, Klark admired her rooms, lost in thought. 

When Klark had killed the previous High General in single combat, she had taken his place and the tower room had been redone to suit her her own tastes. She looked around her. When you entered the room at the top of the stairs, a large table fit to seat four people stood to the right, set on a dark grey carpet. To the left lied the seating area. A black sofa draped in furs sat across from a large stone fireplace, which remained lit whenever Klark was in Anolia.   


An armchair sat on each side of the sofa, facing the small area between it and the fireplace, where there was a small table. At the back of the room past the table lied Klark’s bed, her sleeping chambers situated a small step down from the rest of the room due to some strange design. A soft fur sits on the floor by her bed, which is covered in several multicolored blankets to stave out the cold. 

The ceiling of her tower was arched high above Klark, several tapestries draped as a decoration. A large chandelier hung from the center, usually lit with candles during the evening. Two large windows, one by the table and one by her bed, showed an amazing view over Anolia, the sunlight illuminating her rooms during the day. Her weapons were stored in the trunk at the foot of her bed, though she always slept with a knife under her pillow, and Klark’s clothes were all in the closet that lied several paces from the foot of her bed. 

The bathroom lied through a door by the closet, where a large white tub sat at the left side of the room, and a miraculously working toilet sat to the right. Klark’s rooms were one of her favorite things in Anolia, besides Roan, Ontari, and Atlas. Her room on the Ark had been tiny to save space, with almost no color, and their camp at the dropship was loud with no privacy whatsoever, plus the added danger of an attack at any moment.   


In Anolia, Klark finally had a space to herself, and could rest in peac- “Klark!” Ontari barged through the door, ironically interrupting her thought.  _Wow. Just wow._ “I’m about to get in the bath, Ontari. What is it?” “Just saying hello.” Her eyes lit up mischievously. “Ooh, can I join you?”  _ Oh so were doing this again. If that’s how its going to be, then two can play this game. I won’t lose again.  _ Klark takes off her coat and tosses it on the bed. “Okay, let’s go.” 

Noting Ontari’s wide eyes, Klark walked over to the bathroom door and saw that Teresa had gone. Putting a hand on the doorframe, she looked back at Ontari, who now stood frozen, mouth hanging open an inch. “You coming?” She winked, smirking. “Um...oh I-,“ Ontari stuttered, face flushing red. Klark laughed, then turned back towards the bathroom and said, “See you later,” lifting her hand in a mocking wave. She closed the door and removed the rest of her clothes. Laughing to herself at Ontari’s wide eyed expression, Klark stepped into the bath, sliding down into the warm water, glad to finally get clean.

Though Klark and Ontari had gotten off to an extremely rocky start three years ago, they’d gotten much closer in the last two years. Their relationship had been unusual from the start, unlike any of her past friendships, but an unexpected event two years ago had changed their relationship for the better, but Klark did not want to think about the past now. She was trying to relax. 

She thought back to her most recent encounter with Ontari, just minutes ago. They seemed to be restarting their unofficial flirting competition from before Klark began hunting the Raiders. The goal was to make the other person blush as red as possible; so flustered that they looked like a tomato. If Ontari wanted to restart the game again, then Klark was totally ready to win this time.

They have always had a very strange relationship, ranging from trying to kill each other - though that time had passed - to having intense flirting competitions, and everything in between. Ontari was Klark’s best friend, and the most important person to her, save for Roan, who was her brother in all but blood. Klark was the happiest she had been in a long time, despite the demanding role she played. She hadn’t realized it at the time, but being taken to Azgeda was one of the luckiest things to happen to her, even if some parts of living there were _difficult_. Especially at first.

* * *

Klark walked to the generals’ meeting, refreshed from her bath. She passed Roan’s room on the way, which was not set in a tower but at the end of the second floor hallway. She knocked on the door, then poked her head in. “Hey Roan.” He looks up from sharpening his sword. “Hey,” then looks back down. “Don’t you have a meeting right now?” Klark nodded, though Roan wasn’t looking. “The Queen has some new plot to undermine the commander. Maybe I won’t have to go back to war.” 

Now Roan looked up, interested. “My mother is deciding not to go to war? She must have quite the grand scheme planned.” He lifted his knife towards her. “I hope you can stay here.” “I hope so too,” Klark said, “I don’t want to deal with anyone from my life as a part of Skaikru.” She stepped back out of the room, “I’ll talk to you and Ontari about it later, after the war meeting?” Roan nodded, waving his hand in a shooing motion. “Go! You’re going to be late!” Klark closed the door, walking as fast as she could down the hallway. She should have probably visited Roan later, as it was never wise to be late to a Generals meeting. 

Fortunately, Klark was not the last General to arrive, and though Nia gave her a dirty look, she was not otherwise punished. This time, Queen Nia seemed to be too excited about her plan to care about Klark’s tardiness. Klark stood opposite Nia at the large table and looked at the large map laid out while they awaited the last two generals. Soon, Generals Arah and Selera rushed through the door, looking up at Nia and awaited their punishment for their tardiness. Instead of giving them lashes like Klark had expected, Nia simply started talking.

“As most of you know, the Commander has summoned Azgeda to another war. One that does not affect us in the slightest. Azgeda is still at war with the Raiders - which the coalition had not aided us with whatsoever. “I have developed the perfect plan to undermine the Commander.” 

Klark hoped that it _was_ a good plan, because another war was the last thing she wanted. “Azgeda has the largest and most powerful army of any of the thirteen clans,” Nia continued, “so, we will not answer the Commander’s call to war, which will weaken her army significantly.”  The generals around Klark murmured to each other excitedly, but she remained silent. She knew this already. 

Still speaking, Nia went on. “I have sent an assassin after the messenger who delivered the note.”  _Damn. _ _Poor Damon._ It was too bad. Damon had seemed like a good man, and she had risked her position saving his life for nothing. “He can not be allowed to inform Heda that the note was delivered.”

Unfortunately, it made sense to Klark. Damon had to die to prevent Azgeda from going to war. “As you well know, reaching Azgeda in the winter is nearly impossible for those from the southern clans. Somehow, the messenger knew not to bring his horse onto castle grounds, so I could not kill him here.”  _Oops. Maybe saving him was a bad idea._ “So, we will act as if the messenger never arrived, ignoring the summons. If the Commander sends another messenger, we will do the same.”

“The Commander will have to travel here herself if she wants my army, and she does not have the time to do that.”  _No. Oh no. Lexa in Anolia? That would be worse than war, way worse. If Lexa needed Azgeda’s armies bad enough, she would absolutely travel all the way here._ She would find out that Klark was alive and doubtlessly tell all of Skaikru, who would then wish for her return. 

If Azgeda was called to war, Klark would have to lead them as the High General, forcing her to be near her former people once more, which was the last thing she wanted. Her loyalty was to Azgeda now, and Klark did not want to deal with any of them. It was better that they thought she was dead.

Her mind in turmoil, Klark did not voice any of her concerns. It was a good plan, and it was unlikely that the Commander would travel all the way here. Azgeda ignoring the summons would show the other clans that Lexa did not have complete control, which would lead to more of the clans disobeying orders.   


It was nearly impossible for non Azgedans to bear the cold, so the Commander was especiallyunlikely to travel all the way here in the coldest part of winter. Nia’s plan was simple and straightforward, yet very clever. Klark hoped it would work.

* * *

After the meeting, Klark went back to her room, where Roan and Ontari were waiting for her. After petting Atlas for a moment, Klark joined them in her living area, flopping sideways into an armchair. She and Ontari explained Nia’s entire plan, though she left out some of her own personal reasoning.   


By the end of the story, Roan came to the same conclusion that Klark and Ontari did: Nia’s plan was very clever and they only had to hope that the Commander would not come to Azgeda. They all doubted that she would, though. The idea that a large group of non Azgedans could travel all the way to Anolia was preposterous. 

Enjoying the rest of the day together, Klark, Ontari, and Roan walked out of the city to the lake outside the walls. Atlas ran free, determinedly chasing a stick that Roan had grabbed from the forest. The cool wind pulled at their hair as they stood together looking at the crystal blue lake. Klark wished she could swim, but it was much too cold. She eagerly awaited summer when she could put her swimming lessons to use. 

The next morning, Klark received word. Another messenger had come. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all liked it. I might throw in some Klark/ Ontari, but it will be Clexa endgame! Let me know if anything sticks out to you, good or bad. I love hearing from you all, it is very motivating and makes me work harder. Please leave comments/ kudos! Also, was the room description too long?  
> Thanks


	3. Chapter 3

November 2152

** Damon **

Damon rode his horse quickly through Azgeda, eager to get home to Polis. He had delivered the message  and somehow managed not to be killed by Nia. A definite bonus to what he had expected. Even more strangely, he was only alive because of the High General of Azgeda, who had saved his life.   


Damon had heard many stories of the fearsome High General, though people had never seen his - her - face. Everyone knew that she and her army had single handedly killed hundreds of Raiders that had come back into the coalition lands. He laughed to himself. Nobody would ever believe that the High General of Azgeda was a short blonde woman, much less one who was  _ nice  _ to him. 

Perhaps she was making a joke. The woman _had_ smiled a bit after she’d said it. Plus, she had only been wearing a few knives over her travel clothes, not the intricate armor and weapons fit for a High General. The woman was probably a merchant that had just arrived to the city.  Yes, that was probably right.  It made more sense that way.

He was making good time, almost out of Azgeda. His horse was tired, but he would feel safer once he was in Trikru land, so he continued the fast pace. They were almost to the border when Damon heard hoofsteps. Suddenly alert, be braced himself and looked behind him to see another rider, who was dressed in all black like a bandit.  _Well fuck._

The bandit raised his bow and lined up an arrow at his chest. Damon turned back and urged his horse to run even faster, but she was already too tired and could not possibly outrun the bandit. He felt an arrow pierce his back, and he screamed in pain, falling forward over his horse. Arrows continued to hit him until his body was motionless against the most extreme pain he had felt in his life. 

Damon laid over his horse in agony, feeling his hot blood drain out of him. The darkness pulled at him, urging him to  _sleep_.  The arrows had stopped and the hoofsteps had faded away, the bandit likely thinking him dead. Damon welcomed the looming darkness, a relief from the intense pain in his back. One last thought occurred to him as he finally succumbed to the blackness.  _Why didn’t the bandit take anyth- ._

———————————————————————

Damon felt like he was floating. Just him and the darkness and peace. And pain. There was a lot of that.  _Do people feel pain when they are dead?_ He didn’t know, but he hoped not. There was no way that Damon had survived being shot so many times. Yet, as he thought that, he heard...  _voices_?  He felt his eyes flutter and his left hand twitched. 

Opening his eyes suddenly, Damon could see the inside of a small hut. Someone moved in the corner of his eye, and suddenly he saw an old women lean over him. He flinched, then bellowed in agony at the intense pain in his back resulting from the sudden movement. “ Who are you?” He croaked, “and where am I?”  


All that Damon knew was that he was in a small warm hut somewhere, lying on his stomach in a bed of furs. Herbs were hanging from the rafters, and there was a dark wooden table across from the bed. A roaring fire in the fireplace to the right of the table heated the room.  And the old woman was sitting next to him, her long hair a stark white against her dark winter clothes.  Not much light was coming through the windows, so Damon assumed it was evening. He needed to get to Heda to tell her that he was successful in delivering her message. 

Damon moved to get up, barely holding in another scream. The pain in his back was nearly unbearable. The old woman tittered at the movement, gently placing warm rags over his back. “I am Adona, the village healer. My son found you and your horse at the Azgeda border and brought you both back here.” His hope spiked. “What clan is this?” He asked, praying it was not Azgeda. “Trikru. We are only a couple hours ride from Polis.” This was good news. He could send a message to Heda. 

Adona tilted his head back to feed him some stew, and Damon drank it eagerly, feeling strangely hungry. When he was done he immediately asked to send a message. “Please, I must send a letter to the commander. I am her messenger and have important information.” She looked down at him and nodded her head in acknowledgement. “Tomorrow. It is late, and you have been asleep for three days. You must take care of yourself first.” He gaped at her, eyes wide, but she did not see his expression as his face was still mostly pressed into the pillow. “I will be back in the morning. You can write your message then.” She left him lying there in shock.  _ Three days. I’ve been asleep for three days. Heda is going to kill me.  _

———————————————————————

The next morning, Damon was woken by something clattering loudly. He turned his head to look to the left, where the woman seemed to be cooking something. He could not move, but he cleared his throat to get her attention. “Ah, good. You’re awake.” Adona said, walking towards him with a bowl of something. “I’ll change your bandages and then you can write your letter. It may sting a bit, so brace yourself.” He clenched is teeth so tight that his jaw ached. Whatever she was doing definatly more than stung, and it took all of Damon’s self control not to scream. 

After she had spread the contents of the bowl all over his back, Adona wrapped bandages over his wounds and around his stomach. “You were very lucky.” Adona said, though he did not feel particularly lucky “there were six arrows in your back, yet nothing vital was pierced. If my son had found you any later, you would have died from the blood loss. Whoever tried to kill you did a very poor job of it.”

Damon had to ask Adona to write the letter for him, as he couldn’t move his arms yet. He told her what to write, then she showed it to him to verify that it was correct. She got a messenger to take the letter to the commander in Polis. 

He would stay with Adona until he was healed, which would take a while. Unless the commander wished to talk to him in person, he would undergo his recovery here, in the village of Ienna. 

////////////////////////////////////////////////////  


** Lexa**

Lexa hated Nia with a passion. She knew that the Queen was up to something, that much was obvious, but what could it be? It has been a week since Lexa had sent Damon to Azgeda to summon their army for war. She had sent two additional messengers since then, yet none had returned with Azgeda’s response. 

It was winter, and she knew that the Azgedan weather was unforgiving around this time of the year, but at least one of her messengers should have returned by now. Unless they had all somehow died in the cold, there was no reason for them to be gone so long.  _The Raiders, bandits, frozen to death..._ Lexa sighed. There were a lot of possibilities. Yet none as likely as some new plot constructed by Nia. Again. That bitch never stopped trying to steal power from Lexa.

She leaned back against her throne, pressing her fingers together, deep in thought. They would certainly need the strength of the Azgeda army if war did come to pass, so if Azgeda had to be made to come, then she would make them. For the moment, she would send a small party of gonas along with another messenger to make sure that the summons reached Nia. 

Lexa would wait for three more days, then, well she hadn’t had the time to plan that far yet, but Azgeda  _would_ join the coalition’s army. Even if she had to fetch them herself.  _An interesting idea, come to think of it_.  Lexa would wait three days, then she’d take action.

A knock sounded on the door and a guard stepped inside. “Heda, Skaikru is here for their meeting. Should I let them in?” Lexa sighed. They were early. “Yes, let them in.” Abby and Marcus walked in with Raven. She had expected the first two, as they were the chancellors of Arkadia, but Raven was unexpected. She, like many other Skaikru, still hadn’t forgiven Lexa for her betrayal, but Lexa imagined that it was more due to the fact that her actions had caused Clarke to leave her people forever. 

Lexa’s decision was the only possibility at the time, but it did not mean that she did not regret it more than anything. Now, the only person Lexa had cared about since Costia was dead, and it was also her fault. Lexa had sent out hundreds of search parties looking for Clarke, but she had eventually given up. Clarke was simply gone. 

The Skaikru bowed their heads in respect, and Marcus announced the reason for Ravens presence. “Heda, we have come to discuss Skaikru’s involvement in the coming war. Raven is our tech expert, so her knowledge of both Mount Weather’sweapons and our own will be very useful.” This was good. Raven’s skills in the Skaikru tek would be extremely important in the coming war.   


Lexa nodded at Marcus, “what does the tek tell us of the threat?” Raven stepped forward, looking like she was trying very hard not to glare at Lexa. She appreciated the effort and did not fault Raven for her anger. Lexa deserved it. “When I was surveying the tech inside Mount Weather, I noticed a piece that used a satellite to sense large movements on earth. It looks like huge groups of humans are massing outside the clans.” 

She knew this much, but it was all still very strange. “Could it be more Raiders?” she asked, hoping it was not. That would be her fault too. “No, I don’t think so. They are too far to the west,” Raven replied, “but it’s strange. It’s like they appeared out of nowhere. Their numbers have mostly stopped growing, but a few more people appear each week.” It  was  very strange. They would certainly need Azgeda’s army if war did come to pass. 

“Are they a threat to us?” Lexa asked.Raven looked at Marcus, then back at Lexa. “I don’t know yet, but it is certainly possible. I recommend that we be ready for an attack, and post extra scouts at the borders to keep watch.” It was a good idea. “Very well. I will post extra scouts on the western borders. When you get new information, you must bring it to me. We cannot risk losing this war.”   


Even with only the threat of it looming, it was necessary that they be prepared for anything. “Of course Commander. We will inform you of any new information that we receive.” Kane replied. The three Skaikru walked out of her throne room, the door closing behind them. 

Almost immediately, there was another knock at the door and the guard stepped in. Heda, there are three messengers here for you. Should I let them in? _Three? Did all my messengers in Azgeda return at once?_ “ Who are they?” she asked, hoping that it was indeed the messengers she had sent to Azgeda. “One carries a letter from a small village a few hours north of here. Says it is from a man named Damon. Another brings news of an Azgeda victory against the raiders, and what they found there. The last brings three very young children of Raiders who somehow both witnessed the battle and survived it.” He looked at her expectantly, waiting for Lexas response. She took a moment to take in his words. “Allow them entrance in the order you presented them. The messenger with the letter first.” He nodded. “Yes Heda,” and left the room.

A tall man with long blonde hair walked in and bowed. “Heda. I have a letter from your scout.” She held her hand out, and he hesitantly walked forward and placed the rolled up note in her palm. “You may go. Thank you.” He turned and walked out the door. Lexa set the letter on the table at her side. She would read it later. Right now, she had to learn about Azgeda’s actions against the Raiders. 

The next messenger came in, this time it was a dark haired woman. She bowed, and then began speaking. “Heda. During a patrol of the Azgeda border, we came across a completely destroyed Raider camp. It was burned to the ground, only a few tents clearly remained. But...” she gulped in horror at the memory, “all the raiders were dead, left outside the camp in piles. Over a hundred people dead. Most of them were left mutilated beyond recognition, and there was blood everywhere.”

“Though a few just had slit throats, most were not blessed with a swift death. Out of all the bodies, only five of them were Azgeda. Whichever General led the army that killed the raiders has created the most powerful war unit I’ve ever seen. It was shocking. After surveying the dead, my patrol and I built several pyres and burned all the bodies, then returned home.” Lexa nodded. “Thank you for your account.” The messenger left the room and the last one came in immediately, giving Lexa no time to think about what the messenger told her. 

Behind him were three tiny children. The oldest couldn’t have been older than seven, and the youngest was likely around four. How had these children survived when fully trained men had been killed likethey were untrained sekons? “Heda. These children wandered into our village three days ago, barely awake and starving. I do not know much about them, but from what I gathered, they witnessed the attack on the Raiders from a distance.”

“Someone took them away from the battle and pointed them in the direction of Trikru, then left to rejoin the fight. That is all I know, Heda. You may have to talk to them.” He looked horrified at his insubordination, but she merely nodded. “Leave us.” He practically ran out of the room, leaving three wide eyed children staring at her. 

———————————————————————

Lexa got off her throne and sat on the step in front of it, motioning the children to sit in front of her. They did so hesitantly, looking up at her with fear in their eyes. The two oldest were girls and the youngest was a boy. Obviously siblings, the two girls both had dark hair and pale skin. The boy had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes, reminding her of Clarke for a moment. 

Blinking back the memories, she smiled at the children. “Hi guys” she said, as though talking to a scared dog “do you know who I am?” They each shook their heads. “That’s okay. Have you heard of Heda?” This time they nodded. “Good. That’s who I am.” They looked up at her, confused. The oldest finally spoke. “My parents said you were evil. But you don’t act evil.” Lexa sighed. Evil? She was far from that. “Don’t worry, I’m not evil. And i’m not going to hurt you, so it’s okay to talk to me. Got it?” They nodded solemnly.

“Okay, I’m going to ask you guys a few questions about what happened. It might bring back some scary memories but everything will be okay. Are any of you hungry?” They each nodded emphatically. “Okay, I’ll get you some food, and then we can start.” Lexa called for a maid, and in a few moments, she held a large platter of various foods in her arms. 

She placed it on the ground in front of the children, taking a small sandwich for herself. She let them eat what they wanted, and the amount that they ate made her wonder if the villagers had fed them at all. When they were finally done,seeming much more content, they looked up at her. 

“Okay guys, who can tell me what happened?” Lexa asked. “Why did they attack you like that?” The oldest raised her hand. “It’s probably because we attacked some of their villages.”  _Of course they did. That’s what the Raiders do._ “ But we weren’t there, I only heard the warriors talking about it.” That was good. They didn’t need to see any more violence than they already had. “And what happened when your camp got attacked?” They looked at each other hesitantly, not wanting to relive the events. “I know it’s scary, but it’s really important that I know what happened so that I can protect my people. Can you help me?”

The younger girl answered this time. “I was playing a game with Keya,” pointing at her sister, “after breakfast, when it was still a little dark out. We were in our tent when the screaming started. I had no idea what was happening so we hid under the table and listened to the sound of metal hitting metal. There was lots of screaming... Um. Oh yeah, then three people walked into our tent. Two men and a woman.”

“They saw us right away and the big men walked towards us with their swords out.”  _ What. They would dare attack children?  _ Lexa was shocked at the cruelty of Azgeda. “But before they could get to us, the woman grabbed their shoulders and pulled them back and said...” She looked at Keya who thought about it for a moment.

“It was something like... you know better than that. Right Clara?”  _ That must be the younger girls’ name.  _ “Yeah, that’s it. And then, they left! “Well the scary men did, after saying something weird, like ‘yes hi general’. I don’t know why they said hi while they were leaving, but they did. The nice lady came over to us and crouched down so we could see her, and said ‘I need you guys to come with me, it’s not safe here.’ 

“She picked us up at the same time and walked outside. But only after making us promise to keep our eyes shut. When we could open our eyes again, we were in the forest and I couldn’t see our camp. The lady looked at us, then asked if there were any other children other than us. There was. Edy was still in the camp, so we told her because she seemed nice. 

And then she said something like... fūck... whatever that means, and ran away. So we stood there for a bit and she came back with Edy in her arms. She put him next to us and told Keya some directions to something.” “To Trikru.” “Yeah, that. And then we walked in that direction until a man found us and took us to his village. Then a few days later we came here.” Clara finished, slightly out of breath. 

Though their story consisted of a lot of rambling, Lexa had learned some very interesting information. The new High general of Azgeda was a woman, and for some reason she had saved the lives of three children. It made no sense. From the other report, the elusive High General was a fearsome warrior who’s army was the strongest in all the clans. They had attacked the Raiders relentlessly for months with no mercy, so why had she saved them? 

Curious to know more about the High General, Lexa asked what she looked like. This time, Keya responded, “her hair was dyed red and I remember she had really blue eyes.” “Like Edy’s!” Clara chimed in. “And she was wearing really nice armor with so many weapons, too.” Interesting. Lexa wondered why she dyed her hair. “Okay guys, thank you so much for helping me out. How do you feel about staying here for a few days?” They grinned up at her and nodded enthusiastically. “Great. I’ll get you all settled in.” Lexa called in a servant to take them to a room. The only other children in the tower were the natblidas, so there was room for them here. They would stay in Polis until she could find them a proper home. 

———————————————————————

Finally alone for once, Lexa picked up Damon’s letter.She unrolled it and begun to read it to herself quietly. “Heda. I delivered your message to Queen Nia four days ago. Unfortunately, I was not able to return to you, as when I was leaving Azgeda I was attacked by a bandit. A man dressed in all black shot mein the back with six arrows, and I barely survived. I only woke up last night, so I was not able to send this letter until today. I have more information, but this note covers most of it, and if you need to reach me for anything, I am staying at the village Ienna until I am healed enough to travel. - Damon”

_Ah, so Nia was pretending not to have gotten the summons. Maybe if she hadn’t sent a terrible assassin, it would have worked. Lexa had no doubt that the bandit Damon was describing was indeed an Azgeda assassin, but why was Damon attacked? Nia lives for war. She would never choose not to send her warriors unless... she was trying to undermine me. Of course she was._

It seemed that Lexa would have to take action to force Azgeda’s army to answer her call to war. She sighed, too tired to think of her dilemma right now. Lexa walked through the hallway to her chambers and prepared for bed, ordering her maid to bring her dinner up. Soon, a plate of meats and rice was delivered with a fresh salad. 

As she ate, she thought back to the fall of the mountain, reminded of it from seeing the Skaikru. Lexa had done what she had to in order to save the most of her people possible, but betraying Clarke was her deepest regret. She still wondered what had happened to Clarke after the fall of the mountain, though Lexa supposed that she would never know. Clarke was gone, and it was her fault. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,  
> This chapter took a while to write, but I got it done. It’s mostly a filler chapter to lead to the real stuff. Next chapter we are going to see what made Klark who she is now, going back in time to three years ago. Let me know what you think about this chapter! I love hearing your input. 
> 
> Also, are the paragraphs too long to read easily? I feel like it’s hard to read it like that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to learn about how Clarke became Klark! Get ready for a long af series of flashbacks. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> P.S. If you happen to hate flashbacks, then feel free to skip to chapter twelve where the original storyline will resume :)

November 2152

**Klark **

Klark sat in her chambers with Atlas, slowly petting his long white hair as she thought back on the events of the last three years that had brought her to this peaceful moment. Most of them were far from fond memories, but they had all shaped Klark into the person she was today. She had once been the leader of Skaikru, but she had left that life behind to remain in Azgeda. It had been over three years ago now, and Klark rarely thought of her former people. They had needed so much from her all the time, unable to think or act for themselves. Even the adults! Azgeda had lifted that burden from her shoulders, and now Klark led an army of good soldiers who followed her command to the letter. 

If she saw them again, Klark didn’t know what she would do. Certainly not what they would expect, though. The Skaikru were at fault for her disappearance too, though she imagined that they had no idea of that fact. While her actions on the mountain had been the final straw leading to her departure, Klark had thought about it and knew that her people were at fault too.  _And Lexa_ she supposed, though her betrayal had just been what finally pushed Klark over the edge.

Her people had constantly expected so much of her, like  _she_ was solely responsible for their lives. Klark had been seventeen! And yet they had all looked at her as if  she was the chancellor. Even her mom, who  was _actually_ the Chancellor, had pushed her so much. They had called her ‘too young to lead,’ but then looked to her for advice. They had forced her into leading, yet they stood by and criticized her every action, as if they could have done any better. Yet they still thought of her as their leader? A person that they  _needed_ to be there just for them? She knew that they had looked for her, had seen one of the search parties in fact, but Klark couldn’t take the hypocrisy anymore. She had missed some of the delinquents at first, but they had forced her to save them from their own stupidity too many times to count, solely relying on her to pull their heads out of the mud and lead them in the right direction. Klark hadn’t understood that three years ago, but she did now. She would never go back to being the person in charge of a bunch of needy idiots.

Klark laughed at her past self. She had been so traumatized after killing everyone in the mountain that she had just blamed everything on Lexa. Well, she did still blame Lexa, but she also blamed the Skaikru. So many things would have been different if they had just _listened_ to her, but _no_. They just _had_ to make stupid decisions and attack each other and get themselves killed. Her people had been incapable of controlling themselves.

Staying in Azgeda had changed her life forever. She was home, she was needed - but not too much, and she had a family who saw her as an equal, not as their leader. Klark was stronger than she had ever been, forever changed in the years after Mount Weather.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Three years ago: September 2149

**Clarke**

They were dead. All of them. Clarke had watched them all die, and it was all her fault. She couldn’t think of any other way to save her people, and her mother was being killed right in front of her, so she had pulled the lever, murdering an entire society of people. Making it even worse, most of them were innocent. Some of the people in Mount Weather had even risked their lives to try and help the delinquents escape, and she had killed them too. Clarke walked with her people through the woods back to Camp Jaha, not registering anything around her as her mind raced over what she had just done. Even looking at her people made her feel sick, reminding her of what she did. Clarke didn’t know if she could bear seeing them every day. 

This was all Lexa’s fault. If she had just  _talked_ to Clarke, they could have made a better plan. But no, instead, Clarke was now a mass murderer, solely responsible for the death of three hundred and forty seven people. If you counted the three hundred warriors that she had burned alive, that was six hundred and forty seven people. And their deaths were all her fault, sacrificed just so that she could save her own people. She was a monster and did not deserve the congratulations that she was getting. Not for the mass murder of an entire society.

Looking up, Camp Jaha loomed in the distance and Clarke immediately knew that she couldn’t stay. Not where the living proof of her actions would be around her constantly. Clarke could not be the leader her people needed. She had to get away and finally put herself first. There was no war to fight and she knew that Lexa would not attack them. At least not this soon. They were all safe, so Clarke would leave. Her people were better off without her anyways, even if they didn’t think so. She would probably come back in a few months... if she survived that long, though the idea of dying didn’t seem so bad at the moment. 

Clarke had nothing but her gun and the clothes on her back, but there was no way that she was going into Camp Jaha. Not when freedom was so close. There was no knowing who might stop her, so Clarke would wait until everyone was in the gates before leaving. She had nowhere to go, but the possibilities were endless. Clarke would have to be careful to avoid any of the grounders, as she was not able to fight yet, but being alone was exactly what she wanted. Her gun would only be for emergencies so she would have to hunt her own food. A daunting task, but she was up for the challenge. 

Running into the person in front of her after they came to a sudden stop, she realized that they were already outside Camp Jaha. She waited with Bellamy by the gate, watching her people return home. “Let’s head in,” said Bellamy, walking forward. He stopped and looked back, noticing that Clarke hadn’t moved. “I’m not going in, Bellamy.” His eyes widened. “What? Clarke, if it’s forgiveness you need, then you’re forgiven. Please come inside.  _Please_ ,” he begged. But Clarke shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry Bellamy, but I have to go. You know that I need it. I can’t even bear seeing all their faces. It reminds me of everything I’ve done to save them. Keep everyone safe.” She hugged him, then turned away. “Please don’t come looking for me. At least not for a while.” Bellamy looked heartbroken for her, but nodded in acceptance. As she walked into the forest, she heard a quiet “may we meet again” from behind her. A few tears trailing down her cheeks, Clarke walked on, determined to finally be free for once.

She forced herself to walk until it was too dark to see. Unable to find a proper shelter without light, she sat down against a tree and regarded the dark woods around her in silence. Though she was tired from her very long day, her mind could not rest after everything she had done. So she sat against the tree, thinking about everything and nothing at the same time.   


As the darkness lifted, she rose with it and continued walking. The day went by slowly as she walked for hours. Eventually deciding to stop torturing herself, Clarke found a small creek and crouched by it, drinking her fill. The sun was high overhead, and the cool autumn wind whispered though the trees; the brightly colored leaves waving in the breeze. Deciding that she would build a shelter here, Clarke found several large sticks and leaned them against each other, then placed leaves inside, creating a very short and not very comfortable place for her to sleep. She knew that she should eat, but Clarke’s stomach couldn’t bear the thought. The idea of cooking meat brought back the memories of the mountain men, burned alive by radiation. No, she would not eat yet, not for a while. 

It was the morning of Clarke’s third day alone when her peace was finally interrupted. She was sitting outside her shelter, observing a squirrel when she heard a branch creak behind her. She turned to look for the source, but saw nothing. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a large man dressed in white charging towards her. She moved to stand up, grabbing for her gun, but he was too fast, striking her head hard with the pommel of his knife. Then all Clarke saw was darkness, then nothing at all.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////   
  


Clarke stirred groggily, groaning at the sharp pain in her head. She tried to move but couldn’t. Her arms and legs were tied, and she was hanging over something big... was it a horse? How did she get on a horse? There was a bag over her head and she was gagged with something that she  _really_ hoped wasn’t a sock.  _What the hell?_ She started thrashing, screaming as loud as she could through the gag. She heard the man sigh and the horse stopped walking. Clarke was dragged of the horse and dropped onto the ground, landing in her side.  _Ugh. That hurt._ Suddenly she could see, the bag removed from her head. Blinking back the stars in her eyes from the sudden brightness, she dizzily took in her surroundings. Still in the woods, though the trees were different. And... was it colder? The man stood in front of her and Clarke sat up, glaring at him. “You’re a feisty one, aren’t you?” She growled through the gag, unable to talk. He reached forward and Clarke flinched, but the man only removed her gag. “Who are you?” She demanded “let me go!” He looked at her as if deciding how to answer. Eventually settling on something, he replied “I am Prince Roan of Azgeda. And no, I will not be letting you go.” 

“What’s a prince doing all the way out here?” Clarke snapped, trying to escape the ropes binding her. “Shouldn’t you be in a castle or something?” He looked annoyed at her question. “I  _would_ be, but I was banished by my mother in exchange for Azgeda being allowed to join the coalition. The commander wished to undermine my mother by taking her heir, but she just took in someone else instead.” Clarke snorted. “Sounds like your mother really loves you.” She said sarcastically. He huffed a laugh, looking surprised at the absence of fear in Clarke. Not that she wasn’t scared, but it was quite an unexpected turn of events and Clarke was curious to see what would happen next. She did not fear death, for she had caused enough of it that she deserved to die anyways. 

Clarke continued with her questions, since he seemed willing to answer them. “So why exactly are you kidnapping me?” He looked at her strangely. “Why do you think? If I take you to her, my mother will lift my banishment. She seeks the power of Wanheda.”  _What the hell is a Wanheda?_ “So why are you taking me? I didn’t do anything.” He looked at her incredulously. “you don’t know?  _You_ are Wanheda. The commander of death.”

 _Wanheda. The commander of death._ Clarke laughed hollowly to herself.  _How fitting._ Roan looked at her, his shoulder length brown hair tucked in his white fur coat. “I guess you didn’t know.” He shrugged, “well you do now. Let’s go. And don’t bother trying to run, or I will tie you to the back of my horse and make you walk all the way there.” Clarke wanted to run, but Roan did not seem like he was making empty threats. “Fine.” She spat, still sitting on the ground “where are you taking me?” He knelt down to untie her feet, and Clarke resisted the very strong urge to kick him in the face.  _Self preservation,_ she reminded herself. He easily lifted her onto the horse, which was white with brown spots, and climbed up behind her. Roan finally answered her question as the horse moved forward. “we are going to the capitol of Azgeda. Anolia.” Clarke still had a lot of questions, but it was probably a good idea to stay quiet for now. 

Roan held the reins with his right hand, the left settled on his thigh. Clarke was trying her best not to touch him, sitting up rigidly, but she was unused to the movement of the horse and fell back against him. Roan laughed quietly and Clarke stiffened. “How far is it to Anolia?” He grabbed her as she slipped sideways off the horse, pulling her back upright as she was unable to catch herself with her hands tied. “It is a two day ride. We should arrive there mid afternoon tomorrow.” Clarke was very curious to know how this would play out. She didn’t really want to die, but what control did she have? “What will Queen -“ “Nia,” Roan added.  _Queen Nia._ “What will she do with me?” Clarke asked. “She will likely kill you to take the power of Wanheda,” Roan replied, “unless you can convince her otherwise.” Hm, Clarke did have some useful skills. “Is that possible?” She asked. “If I prove to be useful will she not kill me?”She felt Roan’s hair brush her neck as he nodded. That was good. Maybe she would live past tomorrow, whether she deserved it or not.

Clarke could feel the air getting colder as they rode, her light jacket no longer enough to keep her warm. She shivered as the sun started to set. It was colder than she had ever felt before, and Clarke did not like it one bit. As the light dimmed, Roan stopped the horse and dismounted. Clarke tried to do the same, forgetting that her hands were tied, and fell off the horse onto her back. Roan laughed as she groaned in pain, lifting her up. “It seems that Wanheda is not as strong as the stories say.”  _What an asshole_.  “It’s Clarke. Not Wanheda or whatever.” He looked at her curiously, taking something out of the pockets of the horses saddle. “Klark, then. Very well, I will call you by your name.” He pronounced it strangely, more harsh than she had ever heard it.” She laughed, now seated on the ground as Roan set up a small tent. “Clarke, not Klark.” He looked over his shoulder at her. “That’s what I said. Klark.” She rolled her eyes. “Whatever, you pronounce it weirdly.” Roan stood up from the tent, which only reached his chest, and narrowed his eyes. “No I don’t.”  _Why does he look like he’s about to attack me?_ Deciding to relent, Clarke hurried to say “uh I mean it’s fine though, you just have an accent.” He took a menacing step forward and Clarke’s eyes widened. Was he going to attack her?

Roan threw his head back and laughed loudly. “You should have seen your face!” Stepping around her to his horse, Roan grabbed a bag. “You will have to get used to it. Azgeda has a harsher accent than most clans. You will fit in better if you go by Klark.” He sat down by the tent entrance, a few feet from her, and opened the bag. Clarke huffed a laugh. “I really thought you were about to attack me.” Roan smirked over at her. “I know, that was the point.” Clarke rolled her eyes, not really mad. How strange it was that she got along with her captor. 

Roan passed her some cooked meat, which made her think of what she had done to the people in Mount Weather, so Clarke just shoved it all in her mouth at once.She chewed quickly, ignoring Roan’s amused glance. Glad for the food, she finished chewing. “So what is Anolia like?” Roan looked off into the forest, thinking deeply.

“Anolia is the largest city in Azgeda, home to over a thousand people. The Queen and everyone of importance live in a huge castle in the center of the city. There is a great market where traders and craftsmen from all over the clan come to buy and sell goods, and the whole city is surrounded by a large wall. All the higher level warriors, such as the generals and the captains, live in the castle too.” He looked over at her, and sighed. “If you do manage to survive, there is a girl called Ontari who is a Sekon like you will be if Nia lets you live. Stay away from her as much as you can. If she thinks you will undermine her status, she  _will_ kill you. There are some good people in Azgeda, but the castle is full of people who will immediately betray you for more power. If my mother lets you live, be weary of everyone.” That was a lot to take in, but she got it: Anolia is beautiful, the castle is deadly, and stay away from Ontari. 

Roan stood up and went to his horse. Grabbing a blanket from the saddle bag, he threw it at her. “Get some sleep. I’ll be standing watch.” Catching the blanket, she sighed. Clarke knew there was no point trying to run from her fate anymore. It would be impossible to escape Roan, so she took the blanket and went in the tent. Laying down on the hard ground wrapped in the blanket, Clarke was still a little bit cold but she supposed that it could be worse. She lay in thought for a long time, contemplating her current situation, and eventually fell asleep. 

Outside the tent, Roan sighed to himself as he looked into the woods. He already liked the sky girl - Klark, he supposed - and hoped that she would find a way to stay alive. He knew that she had the potential to be a great warrior one day. 

———————————————————————

Roan woke her at first light, and Clarke groaned at the pain in her neck from the uncomfortable position she had been sleeping in. After getting out of the tent, she waited by the horse as he packed up. Her hands weren’t tied anymore, but she didn’t even contemplate running. There was no way Roan wouldn’t catch her, and it would just be worse once he did. No, Clarke would face her fate head on, and maybe she would live. 

Roan walked over to Clarke and hoisted her into the horse. He stuffed the tent and blanket into the saddle bag, then climbed up behind her, nudging the horse into a trot. They rode in silence, Clarke more comfortable on the horse than yesterday. After a few hours, Roan pulled out some more jerky, which Clarke did not really want for breakfast. Unfortunately, it wasn’t like she had anything else to eat, so she ate the strip of meat, pushing away the memories that came with it. 

As they ride further north, the landscape changed around them. What were once deciduous trees were now large pine trees, and the hills rose into tall mountains. Clarke could see some snow in the non towns above them, and she marveled at it. It’ll though she had seen pictures of snow on the ark, it was so much better in person. Roan noticed her looking, and commented on it. “While the snow looks nice from a distance, just wait until winter... well if you’re still alive, anyways.”  _Wow, that sure makes me feel great._ “ It is very dangerous. The snow can kill in so many ways, and everyone must be very careful.” She nodded her head in acknowledgement, hoping that she would have a chance to see snow fall.

They rode through the valleys between the mountains, and Clarke thought of her people. They were probably looking for her now, even though she had told Bellamy to give her a few days. They really had no trust in her, though she  _did_ end up getting captured this time. Her people constantly expected her to be there for them all the time, and even when she was, they always had to criticize something that she did. Clarke had needed some time away from them, and away from what she had done. And, well, she’d had it, in a sense. Even though she was now likely riding towards her death. 

They rode through the day, only stopping once so Roan could refill his water skin. Clarke was nervous, and a little scared to meet the Queen. She didn’t really want to die, but how would she convince the Queen to spare her? She would have to prove her use, somehow... 

The horse stopped, and Clarke looked up and gasped. Anolia, or what she assumed to be Anolia, was beautiful. She had expected something a little like TonDC, but this was so much better. It was easily fifty times larger, and you could see all the people living their lives, unaffected by war. Roan dismounted and opened the brown saddle bag. He took out the rope that she had been bound with at the start and looked up at her, rolling his eyes at her accusing stare. “you’re a prisoner. You must at least look like one.”  _Ugh_ . She hated that he was right. Queen Nia would never tolerate a prisoner being brought in without restraints. Clarke reluctantly stuck her wrists out, and Roan bound them tightly. He got back on the horse and they rode down the hill towards the heavily guarded gate. 

As they neared the gate, a guard shouted out, “state your name and purpose for being here.” Roan stopped his horse a few paces from the gate and yelled back, “Prince Roan kom Azgeda, and I have a gift for the Queen. I have brought her Wanheda.” The two guards looked at each other, then back at them. “One moment. Because you were banished, Queen Nia must be asked for permission. A messenger will be back shortly.” Roan nodded, and a man ran up the street in the direction of the castle. 

A few minutes later, the same man came running towards the gate, stopping next to the guards and said something to them. They both nodded in acknowledgment of what he said, then the gate opened. “My Queen has granted you an audience. Proceed to the castle throne room. She will see you now.” Roan nudged the horse into a trot up the city’s busy streets. Nobody payed them much attention as they approached the castle. He stopped the horse by a hitching post and dismounted, pulling Clarke down after him. She somehow managed to stay on her feet as he dragged her towards the entrance. 

Too preoccupied with what was happening, she did not register what the castle looked like as the was pulled down a long hallway. Roan quickly stopped and pulled her to the side, whispering quickly into her ear. “I really do hope that you survive. My mother respects confidence and bravery, so  _do not_ show weakness if you want to live. Conceal your emotions, and do not show fear. Fear is weakness too. I know that you will find a way to live, Klark kom Skaikru, so good luck.” Clarke nodded at his words. “Thanks Roan.” It felt weird to be thanking the man who had captured her, but Roan had been quite kind to her when he certainly hadn’t needed to. Roan grabbed her arm again, and looked at her. “It can’t look like I was ever kind to you. Azgeda is known for our brutality, and my mother would think it bizarre that you were unharmed. “Wha -“

He punched her in the face. Hard. “What the hell?” She whispered furtively, holding her eye in pain. He grimaced. “Sorry. It had to be done,” then he continued to drag her down the hallway. A minute later, they stopped outside two large double doors where two guards were standing. They nodded at him, opening the door, announcing their presence. “My Queen, Prince Roan has arrived.” 

A middle aged woman with short blonde hair sat on a large throne, leaning back with her forearms on the armrests. She smirked at them, staring down at Clarke as if she were a tiny insignificant bug. Roan pulled her forward and forced her into her knees in front of the throne. “My Queen,” Roan bowed, “I have brought you Wanheda kom Skaikru in return for the lifting of my banishment.” Clarke glared up at the Queen, showing no emotion but anger at her capture. 

Queen Nia stood up and walked down the granite steps to stand in front of Clarke. “So you’re the one who carries the power of Wanheda,” she spoke, “well, soon that power will be mine.” Her voice was slippery, and Clarke knew that the Queen was no novice to manipulation. “Are you going to kill me, then?” Clarke asked. “Just to take possession of an idea of power?” The Queen studied her silently, then responded, smirking evilly. “Of course. You will be executed, and your head will be sent to the commander as proof that I hold the power of Wanheda.”

Clarke looked up at Nia, head tilted back to meet her eyes. “Well, you _could_ do that. But wouldn’t it be better to have the power of Wanheda on your side instead? Instead of killing me, train me. Use my power instead of attempting to take it.” 

Nia looked intrigued. “Your loyalty lies with Skaikru and the commander. Why would I accept you here, when you could be spying on me?” “The commander?” Clarke snorted humorlessly, shaking her head. “She betrayed me and left me and my people to die. I wouldn’t care if you killed her.” She continued speaking. “As for my people, the Skaikru, they no longer hold my loyalty. They act as if they are idiotic children, unable to do anything for themselves. Skaikru took advantage of me for too long, so now my loyalty lies with myself.” Clarke concluded her statement with a final point. “If you allow me to live, then I will forever be in your service. You will be able to wield the power of Wanheda using my power as a weapon through me, instead of transferring it to you and possibly losing it forever.” 

Nia studied her intensely. Then, seeming to sense the truth in her statements, she stepped back to her throne. “Very well, Wanheda. Swear fealty to me and I will let you live... for now. If you ever betray me, I will kill you and everyone you love.” Clarke didn’t know what to say, so she just said what came into her head. “I swear fealty to you, Queen Nia kom Azgeda. I promise to do your bidding as a loyal warrior and to uphold the laws of Azgeda.” Clarke bowed, looking at her feet, then stood up. “Good,” said the Queen. “Do you have a name, Wanheda?” “I am Clarke kom Skaikru.” Nia leaned back in her throne. “You are now Klark kom Azgeda.” She looked behind Clarke to Roan. “Prince Roan will take you as his Second until you are fully trained.” Roan nodded in assent. “Yes my Queen. Klark will be the best warrior that Azgeda has ever seen.” Nia waved her hand in a dismissive wave. “Good. You may go.” They turned to walk out when she spoke again. “And Roan? She stays with the other Sekons until she earns her mark as a warrior of Azgeda.” Roan bowed. “Yes my Queen.” Then he turned back around and guided Clarke, or Klark now, she supposed, out of the room. 

Once through the doors, she turned and smirked at him. “I’m not dead, bitch!” And she threw up a peace sign. He looked very confused at her hand gesture but smiled back. “I knew you would live. Now let’s go get you settled in to the Sekons quarters.” He led her down what she took to be the main hallway, and down a large staircase at the end. “You will be with the rest of the high profile Sekons. The sons and daughters of Generals, Lords, and other high ranking officers. Do not tell them you are Wanheda, or they may try to take your power by killing you. Be careful, Azgeda is full of betrayal.” Taking it all in, Klark continued walking until Roan stopped outside a large door. “This is it. There should be a bunkbed with everything you need laid out. Let’s go on in. And be careful, you may not be received well.” On that very happy note, he opened the door and led her towards a bunk bed in the back of the room. 

There were a few people in there, and they all stopped what they were doing to look at her. It put Klark on edge. Roan pointed to the bed she would be occupying, which already had someone’s belongings laid out on the top. She wondered who she would be sharing with. Roan pulled out a bedroll and a pillow and placed them on her bed. “You will get fitted for clothes and weapons tomorrow. Right now, you stay in your current clothes.” Klark nodded and turned to her bed. “Dinner is soon. You will have to follow the rest of the Sekons to find it. Lastly, tomorrow we start training. Meet me at the training ring with the other Sekons. Make sure that you are on time, and stick with everyone else until you know your way arou-“ He was interrupted as someone came up and stood between them.

“ _Roan_ ,”  said a mocking voice. “You’re back. And who is this?” Klark turned to see a very attractive brunette girl glaring at her. Roan sighed. “Klark, this is your new bunk mate. It looks like you’ll be on the bottom.” He turned to the brunette. “Play nice. This one is important.” And then Roan walked out, leaving her and the girl alone.  _Why does she look like she wants to kill me?_

Turning to Klark, girl crossed her arms. “I’m Ontari, who are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys,  
> I hope you liked it! As always, let me know what you think, and if there are any mistakes. I love hearing from you! Make sure to leave comments/kudos so I keep writing! Thanks.
> 
> Also, the finale was so good but such a weird ending. At least Jason verified Lexa as Clarke’s true love.


	5. Chapter 5

PSA: Ontari is NOT a nightblood in this story!

* * *

Three years ago: September 2149

** Klark **

“I’m Ontari, who are you?”

Ontari, the one person that Roan had warned her to stay away from, was her bunk mate.  _Great_ . Klark could tell that the brunette already hated her for some reason. She sighed before holding her arm out for a handshake. “I’m Klark,” she said. Ontari looked at her in disgust before grasping her forearm in the traditional grounder shake. “Whatever. Don’t talk to me, don’t look at me, and don’t annoy me, and we should get along fine.” She leaped onto the top of the bed only using one step of the ladder, which was a tiny bit impressive. Klark stared at her for a second, then moved closer to her own bed. She unrolled her grey bedroll and placed the pillow on top, then looked around for a blanket and sheets. Not seeing any, she sighed and sat down on her bunk and leaned against the wall behind it.

Waiting for someone to start moving so she could follow them to dinner, shestudied her new home. The Sekons chambers were quite large, and there were fifteen or so bunkbeds spaced a few feet apart between two large arched windows that let the daylight in. There were only five people besides herself in the room at the moment, and they were all doing various activities in near silence, though a pair of boys were whispering to each other. 

What she found strange was that only three bunk beds were being used, but they all had to share a bunk even though there were many other free beds. Well, she wasn’t going to challenge that now. Klark had only just become a sekon so she would follow the rules. And Roan had told her to take this bed, so she would follow his direction. Klark noted that the other Sekons were all around her age, though she assumed that they had been training for most of their lives. Klark would be very far behind them, skill wise, and would have to work hard to catch up. 

There was three girls besides herself, and two boys. She noticed that they all had chests under their beds, containing what she assumed to be their clothes. Maybe weapons too? Her guess proved to be correct as a girl with short black hair leaped off the top bunk of her bed and crouched down to open her chest, pulling out a wool sweater. Klark craned her neck and saw that it contained mostlyclothes, though she noticed that there were a few knives in various pockets. _They all probably have weapons hidden in here..._

A bell rang loudly and Klark jumped, startled. All the other Sekons in the room leaped off their beds and walked quickly towards the door. Ontari jumped from the bed above her and landed in front of Klark, looking back at her. She smirked. “You better hurry if you want to eat today, newbie,” then she walked over to the others who were waiting by the door. For some reason, they all parted to let her go out first.  _Weird_.  Klark jumped up and rushed to follow the other Sekons who were walking quickly through the castle. She stayed at the back of the group, wondering what she was supposed to be doing. Roan had not left much direction, and Klark had no idea what the rules were or where she would be sitting.

Lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed as the tall girl with short black hair slowed down to walk beside her. It was only when she spoke that Klark came back to herself. The girl said something in the grounder language, but noticing that Klark didn’t understand her, she switched to English. “Hi, I’m Alya. You’re new right?” Klark nodded. “Yeah, I’m Klark.” Alya smiled at her as they continued to follow the other Sekons down the hallway. “I’ve never seen you before, where are you from?” Klark had no idea what to say. It wasn’t like she could say the truth, so she stuck with a vague answer. “I am from a small village by the southern border with Trikru. Prince Roan brought me here to be his Sekon after he got his banishment lifted.” “Is that why you only speak gonasleng?” Klark guessed that gonasleng meant English, so she nodded. “Well, I don’t suppose Prince Roan showed you around, did he?” Klark laughed. “If you mean dragging me to a bed then leaving me there, then yes, he did.” Alya smiled at her, “well, then you’re lucky that we met! I’d be glad to show you the ropes.” Relieved, Klark smiled back at her. “That’d be great, thanks!”

They walked behind the others to the dining hall, or that’s where Klark assumed they were going. Turning to Alya, she asked, “we are going to eat right?” Alya laughed, “yes, the bell you heard means dinner. The Sekons eat in a different hall than our mentors and the Generals, so it will be just the six of us. There are usually more, but the other seven are completing their training in the south, so it should just be us this year.” It seemed like a pretty small group for such a big city, but Klark assumed it was because these were the children of people of higher importance. 

Klark was curious to know about Ontari, and why Roan had directed her to stay from her, so she asked “what’s the deal with Ontari?”, hoping that Alya wouldn’t think she was rude and tell Ontari that shehad asked. Alya sighed dramatically, “where do I start? Ontari has always... been  _difficult_.  She is the daughter of General Arah, and has always,  always been the top of the class. She isn’t close with any of the other Sekons, and believes that all feelings are weakness, so she doesn’t even try to get to know anyone.  _That sounds just like Lex- no. Don’t think about her._ Alya continued speaking, oblivious to Klark’s inner turmoil. “She gets special privileges, which is why we all had to wait for her to lead us out. Because Ontari has never allowed herself to be close to any of us, she is just mean all the time. It’s too bad that you are her bunk mate. You’ll have to deal with a lot more shit than we do.” Well that sounded fun. Klark would just have to avoid Ontari as much as possible. 

They followed Ontari into a small room with a large wooden table down the middle. There was already food piled on several large platters, and Klark saw what looked like roasted chicken and rice with various vegetables. She had never eaten food this nice in her life, and Klark was eager to try it. Each of the other Sekons sat down in what Klark assumed to be their usual spots, so Klark just followed Alya and sat in the empty seat beside her, across from a dark haired boy. 

They were only seated at the last six places, so they were all close to each other. Seeing everyone else had started taking food, she did the same, piling it onto her plate. She barely containing a satisfied groan at the rich taste of the meal, never having tasted food as good as this before. The boy across from her looked up from his dinner and studied her, then stuck his arm out. “Hi, I’m Jack! Who are you?” Everyone looked up from their food to watch their interaction, except Ontari who continued to eat while ignoring everyone, though Klark could tell that she was listening. 

She took his arm and grasped it firmly from across the table. “I’m Klark. Prince Roan brought me here to be his sekon.” That peaked their interests, and the other two people she hadn’t met yet looked at her raptly. Jack looked impressed, “Prince Roan has only had one other sekon, and she is now one of the four generals. You are lucky that he is your fos.” Klark didn’t really know Roan well, but she hoped that Jack was right. She would need to be the best warrior possible if she wanted to stay alive. 

She finished her meal as Jack introduced the other two people at the table. He gestured towards the blonde boy next to him, introducing him as Etan, then he pointed at the brunette sitting at Ayla’s right side, who nodded at Klark and introduced herself as Katea. Jack glanced at Ontari, but decided better than to introduce her and instead turned back to Klark. “Well, good luck with your training.” Klark simply nodded in response, waiting for them to start walking back to the sekons chambers. 

Ontari finished her food, then stood up and walked out of the room, not saying a word to anyone. They all stood up and followed, walking silently back to their room. Ontari was on her bunk, sharpening a knife to a deadly point and staring at them as they walked in. Klark had to walk over to her in order to reach her bed, and Ontari held eye contact for an unnervingly long time before Klark finally ripped her gaze away. It was very freaky. 

Fortunately, Ayla had directed her where to find the bedding, so Klark grabbed a bag of sheets and a blanket from the cabinet in the corner. She made her bed and laid down, finally comfortable for the first time in a week. She shut her eyes and relaxed into the pillow, noticing a small movement in the bed above her. She took little notice, but Klark felt something hit her pillow. Opening her eyes and looking to her left, she saw that Ontari’s knife was impaled in the pillow, mere inches from her face.  _ Did she just try to kill me?  _ Klarksat up suddenly. “What the  _ hell  _ Ontari?”, she exclaimed, and everyone in the room looked over at her. Ontari leaned down from the bed above her to look at Klark, showing way too much of her chest, which Klark impressively ignored. “Oops! I must have  _ accidentally  _ dropped it,” she said with a malicious smirk, her dark eyes narrowing in triumph. Ontari reached down and grabbed the large knife out of her pillow, then sat back up and acted as if nothing had happened. Klark sat in shock, staring at where Ontari had been.  _What just happened?_ She looked over at everyone else, but they all quickly glanced away from her, not meeting her eyes. They weren’t going to get involved. Not with Ontari.

What could she do, though? She had no training and Ontari would surely kill her if she wanted to. The best option, she decided, was to ignore it for now and to train as hard as possible with Roan so she could protect herself. Hoping that Ontari wouldn’t kill her in her sleep, Klark laid back down on her stabbed pillow and shut her eyes. Tomorrow she would start training with Roan, and she needed the sleep. 

* * *

She woke suddenly to Alya shaking her shoulder, the sounds of quick movements filling the room behind her. “It’s almost time for training. We leave in a few moments.” Klark sat up and pulled off her blanket, stepping out of her bed. She shivered. Fall in Azgeda was much colder than it was at Camp Jaha, and she was still wearing her very dirty clothes from the attack on Mount Weather. Roan had mentioned getting clothes today, so perhaps Klark would be able to finally clean up. 

The other sekons were in varying stages of undress as they changed into their clothes for the day. It seemed that the grounders did not care for modesty like the Arkers did, which was strange to Klark, but she supposed that she would just have to get used to it. She avoided meeting any of their eyes as they were changing, and put on her shoes, waiting for everyone else to get ready. Ontari was not there, so they all just clustered together and walked up the stairs to the main floor once they were all done changing. 

They went up the stairs to the castles main corridor, and down the long hallway to the entrance. Stepping outside, Klark shivered. It was  _ cold _ , probably around late September now, though nobody had really been keeping track. They had been too occupied with surviving to care about what month it was. The other sekons didn’t seem bothered by the temperature, though they were all wearing heavy fur coats like Roan’s, which Klark was slightly envious of. Hopefully she would get warmer clothes today.

The city was laid out before them, just starting to come to life. People were emerging from their homes to do their daily tasks, and the sounds of life floated up the hill to the castle. The thick grey clouds warned bad weather, but Anolia was beautiful, and Klark took as much of it in as she could while following the sekons down the cobbled stone street towards what looked like an army camp. Tall grey stone homes with high dark wood roofs lined the streets, smoke from their fireplaces floating above the city. Klark knew that she would come to love living here, the peacefulness of the beautiful city already holding a palace in her heart. Klark may have been forced to come here against her will, but Anolia was going to be her home now and she was grateful for the chance to live. Especially in such a beautiful place. 

The war camp was very different than the city. Though there were some permanent buildings, there were many different tents of the various sizes. Not many warriors were out yet, but Klark noticed that the ones she did see were all incredibly muscled. Unlike the city, the camp was full of the sounds of an army awakening. She heard the sounds of a hammer hitting metal, and the sizzling of the several cook fires that dotted the area. There were some shouts in the distance and a thud, then loud boisterous cheering rang out.  _Training area then._ Klark had never actually been inside a war camp before, and she was startled to find that she felt quite at home here.

They walked past a training pit where a huge man had just won a fight, a large crowd of warriors standing in the designated area around the dirt covered pit at the center. Loud cheering filled the air as another man is pushed into the center to face the victor. Klark looked back over her shoulder to see what happened next, but the bottom of the pit was already out of view. They continued on for a minute, then arrived at the top of another pit. 

The sekons training pit was the same size as the other one, but it was empty save for five people, Roan amongst them. Klark assumed that the other four were the firsts of the other sekons. They descended down the stone steps at the top of the ring to reach the bottom. Following Ayla’s lead, she stopped in front of Roan as the others stopped in front of their mentors. One of the firsts, a huge man, yelled something in the grounder language and everyone sprinted away. Klark looked at Roan. “You'll be doing that soon enough,” he said, “but today you’ll be learning the basics. Plus, we also need to get you some clothes and we don't have time for the long run and that they are doing.” She nodded and Roan grinned, looking way too exited to beat her up. He pointed at the stand of weapons. “Grab a wooden training sword and let's see what you can do.” 

Klark walked over to the stand at the edge of the ring and lifted two swords, picking the one that felt the best. She turned back around and walked back to where Roan was waiting, holding her sword tightly in her right hand. Now that they were alone, she was not worried about the other sekons judging her lack of skill with a sword. Though Klark had been trained in self-defense on the Ark, her training had only included hand to hand combat. Perhaps she could incorporate those skills into her sword fighting somehow...

Instead of pulling out his own sword, Roan simply said, “hit me.” Seeing the look that Klark gave him, Roan explained. “I’m not going to fight you back until you can land a hit on me. Once you can do that, we can start combat training.” All she had to do was hit him.  _Okay. This shouldn't be too hard_.  She ran at him and swung her wooden sword towards his stomach. And missed. He had dodged out of the way, too easily for Klark's liking. Determined to hit him, she continued to swing futilely in his direction until he said to stop, many minutes later. Roan grabbed her wooden sword and moved her hand into a different position. “Your grip is wrong.” It  _ did _ feel better to hold it this way. “Instead of just trying to randomly hit me, you must use your brain. Think of a tactic and try it out. Be precise. Your life could depend on your ability to think quickly one day.” Roan let go of her sword and stepped back. “Remember. Think before you act.” 

This time, Klark studied him before moving. Though she had no training with a sword, her combat skills were not too bad and her mind worked well in tough situations. She would have to anticipate his movements in order to catch him. Klark walked forward slowly, scanning him from head to toe. Roan was leaning slightly on his left foot, so this time she braced herself to follow him in that direction. Klark lunged forward quickly, sword aimed at his stomach once more. This time, as Roan stepped to the left, she followed, her sword much closer than last time. Roan stepped back and nodded in encouragement. “Good. You were closer this time. Again.” 

Doing the same as the previous time, Klark studied his body language in preparation for her attack. Lunging once more, she stepped to the right, matching his movements. As he spun out of the way, she jabbed him in the stomach with her sword. He looked at her in pleased surprise. “That was quick. Maybe you will be a good warrior after all.” Stepping past her, Roan grabbed his own wooden sword and swung it around. “Now, follow my movements.” 

He moved into a long series of moves with the sword twisting around his body. She tried to follow his movements but he was spinning too fast. Roan finished the sequence and stopped with his sword pointing out towards an invisible opponent. “That was the warmup sequence called the dance of the dragon. It is usually done with a partner, but you will do it alone until you have it mastered.” He led her through the sequence once more, which Klark fumbled her way through. It was very difficult, but she could feel her muscles loosening up. 

They put the swords back and Roan tested her skills in various different weapons. She already hated the weight of the large battle axe, but Klark found that she was quite good at archery and knife throwing. With some work, Roan said that she would excel at using them. She threw the knives over and over until her arms were sore, and she had shot enough arrows to down a small army. They finally stopped, hours later, and Roan gave Klark a break for lunch. They walked together through the war camp, and Roan showed her to a large campfire where huge strips of beef were being cooked. 

A large group of people stood around the fire talking loudly as they walked up. Klark was worried that people would notice her, but it was for naught. Nobody gave them a second glance, and Klark eased the tension on her body, relaxing in this new environment. Though warriors could be very frightening, right now they were just people eating their lunch with their companions, and she felt quite comfortable in their presence, which was good. Klark would need to be comfortable in an army setting if she wanted to succeed here. 

Roan nodded at a large man who was rolling the strips through the fire and grabbed one of the long sticks. He gestured at Klark, who stepped forward and took one for herself. Following his movements, Klark walked behind Roan as he left the fire circle behind, heading back towards the training pit. She took a bite of the sizzling meat, and was shocked at how good it was. The new flavors were startlingly different than any food she had ever eaten, and it was so much better. There had been no flavored food on the Ark, and at the dropship they had just eaten whatever meat they could hunt, as well as some random nuts and berries. The food in Azgeda was far better than that, which pleased her immensely. 

She devoured the stick of meat as they walked, and was done far before they reached the training pit. She threw the stick to the side as they descended the stairs and Roan sat at the bottom to finish his lunch, eating almost as quickly as she had. He stepped over to the rack of weapons and took out the two wooden swords once more. He led her through the same sequence of moves as earlier - the dragon dance, she remembered - which was just as difficult to follow as the first time. He had her do it ten times over until her arms were shaking from holding the sword out for so long. She refrained from flopping onto the ground like she desired, wanting to maintain some semblance of dignity, though Roan had literally seen her fall off a horse and land on her face so Klark didn't know why she bothered. There was currently no one around who would care. 

Though she was exhausted, Roan ordered her to run around the training loop twice before they finished. The loop was a narrow path cut around the war camp. It had various obstacles planted that she had to go over or under that made it much harder than just simple running. Klark even had to climb up a wall, then run along the edge before she could jump down to the ground. It was _utter torture_ , and she was not looking forward to doing it again tomorrow. She estimated that the loop was probably around a mile and a half long, so she had run around three miles. They’d had to work out on the Ark to stay healthy, so she was more in shape than most of the other delinquents, but three miles was still a lot more than she was used to. When she finally finished, Klark bent over, out of breath. Her entire body was sore from the rigorous training session and she could barely move. She stretched her muscles slightly, but Klark would need to develop her own stretching routine so she didn't hurt herself. 

Roan handed her a canteen of water which she drank gladly, then led her out of the now fully awake and functioning war camp and into the city. It was far more crowded than she had observed this morning, and the simple bustle of the people of Anolia was strangely peaceful. People were simply living their lives without the constant threat of war looming over their shoulders. She gazed at them jealously as they walked past, wishing she could be living a peaceful life. 

They stopped at a small shop where an old woman fitted Klark for her new clothes. Once she got the measurements, she turned to Roan. “My prince. The first snow will fall soon, will you have me make her a fur coat, too?” Instead of agreeing like Klark expected, Roan shook his head. “No, my sekon will be hunting the fur for her own coat.” The woman nodded easily, accepting his statement as Klark raised her eyebrows at Roan, which he ignored. “Very well. The clothes will be ready by dusk tonight, but I do have an available pair of shoes right now.” Raising her eyebrows questioningly at Roan, the woman handed Klark a pair of warm fur lined boots. Taking off the worn shoes she was wearing, she put them on and her eyes widened at the feel of the warm fur inside. They fit perfectly, and were so comfortable. Roan saw her expression and sighed. “I’ll take them. She needs boots for the snow anyways.” Klark smiled as Roan passed the woman a few coins, glad to finally have some good shoes for once.

They walked back up the street to the castle and Roan dismissed her for the day, allowing her time to rest before dinner. She turned right and went down the stairs to the sekons room while Roan went in the opposite direction to where she assumed his chambers were. Etan was the only other person in the room, and he looked up from his book to nod at her, then went back to reading. Klark laid on her bed and waited for the dinner bell to ring as the other sekons slowly trickled in, done with their training. When Ontari arrived, she didn’t say a word, but glared at Klark as she made her way over to their bunk bed. Klark had no idea why Ontari hated her so much, but she would have to be very careful around her. 

They went to the sekons dining hall for dinner, which was as delicious as yesterday, and ate in complete silence. Klark looked out of the window from her seat and noticed that the sun was starting to set, the bright pink and purple sky illuminating the grey outer walls of the castle. It was beautiful, and Klark wished that she could draw it. She looked at it longingly, not noticing Ontari’s glare, but she did not have the time to admire it for long as the other sekons stood up to leave the room. 

As she walked behind Ontari towards their bunkbed, she noticed that there was another chest next to hers. She opened it while Ontari climbed onto her bed and saw that there were several pairs of various shirts and pants, as well as some underwear and socks. She chose the ones that felt the softest to use as sleepwear, then quickly changed out of her dirty clothes. As she was putting on her shirt, she realized that she was still wearing an Arker style bra, which was not good at all. It would be very obvious that she was not from Azgeda if anyone had noticed, as all grounder women used a tight wrap style and not the old world ones that the Arkers still used. She quickly looked around at the other bunks, but nobody was paying her any attention. Klark relaxed slightly, then remembered her bunk mate. She slowly looked up and met the eyes off the last person that she wanted to know her secret.  _Well shit._  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long to update. It was pretty boring to write - and read, I’m sure- but don’t worry, the action is coming soon! This chapter was mostly setting the scene for the next chapters, so bear with me here! As always, please leave comments! I work so much harder when I know that there are people who still want to read my story. 
> 
> Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

Three years ago: September 2149

** Klark **

Ontari was looking at her, eyes narrowed in suspicion.  _Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Shit._ Klark tensed, her own eyes wide as Ontari stared down at her intensely. They held eye contact for what felt like hours, and she opened her mouth to say something,  _anything_ to end this terrifying moment. But before she could make a sound, Ontari launched herself off her bunk straight at Klark, tackling her to the ground, knocking her onto her back.

Slightly dazed, Klark struggled to get up, but Ontari was sitting on her chest pinning her arms and legs down. She struggled against the hold as Ontari glared down at her suspiciously. “What are you-” Klark was cut off as Ontari suddenly stood and grabbed her arm, literally dragging her out of the room. The cold stone floor scratched against her back as she squirmed, trying to get out of Ontari’s incredibly strong hold on her forearm. She would certainly have bruises if she survived this. As she was dragged through the room, Klark looked to the other sekons for help, but they all just stared in shock, not moving to help her at all. It seemed that she was alone.

Ontari dragged her all the way out of the room and down the long hall, then stopped near the end. Klark felt herself drop onto the floor like a sac of potatoes, only for Ontari to lift her up by the collar of her shirt and shove her into the wall, a knife pressed against her neck.  _Where did she get the knife?!_ They stared at each other, Klark looking slightly up to meet her eyes. “Who  are  you?” Ontari growled menacingly, her face way too close to Klark’s. “I’m Kla-“ “Don’t  _lie_ to me!” she shouted “I know you aren’t Azgeda. I saw your clothes. Who are you really?” Feeling a drop of blood slide down her neck, Klark decided to stick with the truth. “I used to be Clarke Griffin, the leader of Skaikru. Roan kidnapped me and brought me here for Queen Nia.”

Whatever Ontari was expecting, this was not it. Looking shocked, she slightly lessened the knifes pressure against Klark’s neck. “Skaikru?  _You_ were the leader of Skaikru?” Klark could already see her making the connection between who had destroyed the mountain and the Skaikru, so she continued to speak. It wasn’t like she could go anywhere, anyways. “They called me Wanheda after I killed all of the Mountain Men.” Ontari stepped back, letting Klark fall to the floor. She looked down at her, obviously doubting her statement. “ _You’re Wanheda?!_ But you can’t even fight! I saw you training, there’s no way  _you_ destroyed the mountain.” Well that was flattering. When had Ontari been at the training pit, anyways? She scowled at Ontari’s incredulous expression from her position on the floor. “All I did was pull a lever! I didn’t need to fight! Not all wars are fought with swords, you know.” Ontari looked like she disagreed, but didn’t comment on it. 

“How did you even get here?” she asked, nose wrinkled in confusion. “Roan shouldn’t have been able to even get to you after you defeated the Mountain Men.” Embarrassed, Klark looked away. “He caught me because I left my people.” She glanced back to see her reaction, andbarely held in a laugh at the comical expression on Ontari’s face. “You  _left_?  What, you just walked away from your people?” Klark nodded, grimacing. “They were idiots and I needed a break from acting like their mother. I was going to go back eventually, but instead Roan captured me and brought me here.” Ontari looked astonished at her stupidity. “You do realize that the entire coalition is hunting for you right now, right? Even the commander has sent out search parties.”  _What, already? How does she know that I’m not with my people?_

Seeing Klark’s scowl at the mention of Lexa, Ontari cocked her head slightly to the left and raised her eyebrows. “Ooh, you don’t like her much, do you?” Klark laughed without humor, “She left us there to die, so I had to kill every single person in the Mountain to save my people.” She could tell that Ontari didn’t understand why that was an issue, so she continued. “There were innocents there too. They didn’t deserve to die.” Ontari looked at her blankly, as if she still didn’t understand why that was a bad thing. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter anymore. They’re all dead anyways.” She sighed, “but yes, I’m from Skaikru.”

Ontari stared at her thoughtfully. “So that’s why you don't speak our language?” Klark nodded emphatically from her position on the floor. Ontari looked down at her for a moment, processing her words, then stuck her arm out, her knife now in her pocket. Though she was reluctant to accept her help, Klark took the offered arm and pulled herself to her feet, stumbling back a step after almost smashing her face into Ontari’s. Ontari smirked at her, but without as much malice as before. “I don’t trust you, but if you  _are_ Wanheda then i’m probably not going to kill you. Queen Nia would have my head.”  _Probably? And is that really the only reason?_ It was better than dying, though, so she accepted it. “Good. Can we go back now? I’m tired and you literally just dragged me down this entire hallway. What the hell, by the way?” Ontari looked very satisfied with herself, not deigning to answer as they walked back together.

Before they reached the door, Ontari commented, “you smell like a pig. You  _do_ know that there is a bathhouse, right?” Ignoring the insulting remark because she  _did_ smell horrible, Klark stopped walking. “Where?” Ontari stopped a few steps ahead and looked back. “The sekons bathhouse is down that hall to the right,” she said, pointing at a hallway that connected to the one that they were on. Seeing Klark’s expression, she snorted, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “Don’t look so desperate! We take baths every day. What did you think the extra time before bed was for? Relaxation?” She laughed. “There’s no water now, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.” Klark looked at the hall longingly, desperate for a bath, but grudgingly followed Ontari back to the sekons rooms instead.

As they walked across the room to their bunk, she glanced at the other sekons. They all seemed like they were pretending like nothing had happened, busying themselves with random things. Jack was the only one who would meet her eyes, and she could tell that he felt at least slightly guilty for not doing anything. Klark didn’t think that she could really trust any of them, but it would be good to have people around who she could look to for information, so she wouldn’t say anything about it. At least not yet. 

The rest of the night passed without issue as Klark and Ontari settled on their respective levels. Laying on her bed in the dark room, Klark thought about her people. Or her former people, she supposed. They were likely scouring the forests for her, but Klark knew that they would never find her here. She was hundreds of miles away from Camp Jaha, having ridden Roan’s horse most of the way to Anolia. Additionally, when she’d left she had been on foot. Her people would never guess that she could make it this far. They would never guess that she would leave them either, so they would probably stop searching once they thought she was dead, within a few months. 

It actually wouldn’t be impossible for Klarkto escape Azgeda one day as she gained more freedom, but the strange thing was, Klark didn’t _ want _ to go back. She wanted a different life than being the leader of Skaikru could bring. A life without having to constantly supervise her people as if they were mere children instead of functioning adults. When even the most obvious decisions had to be debated by a council of conceited adults who constantly undermined the very society that they represented. No, Klark would not return to Skaikru. She had been given the chance to start over in Azgeda and accomplish everything for herself - instead of being forced to take control of a bunch of teenagers like at the dropship - and she was not going to waste it.

Klark had truly cared for some of the delinquents, especially Octavia, Raven, and even Bellamy, but she was better off without them. Though she would miss the easy familiarity in which they interacted, her friends were not a good enough reason to make Klark stay where she wasn’t happy. The amount of rules at Camp Jaha had been suffocating in the short time that she had been there, and she couldn’t suffer through living life on the ground as if they were still in space.Plus, her people reminded her of the Mountain Men, which she absolutely did not want to think about. Klark could not stay with Skaikru anymore, not now that she knew that there were places like Anolia in the world. She would try to ensure that Azgeda didn’t attack them, but that was all. She was Klark kom Azgeda now. Clarke Griffin, the leader of Skaikru, was gone for good. 

* * *

The next morning, Klark woke to the toll of the bell and realized she must have slept through it yesterday. As she laid on her back, the bed was so comfortable and she just wanted to go back to sleep...  No!  Klark sat up quickly, not wanting to get punished for tardiness. Looking around the room, she saw that it was still dark in the castle, only the slightest bit of light shining through the windows. Noticing that everyone was starting to get up, Klark pulled the blankets off her legs and stepped out of the bed, her throat twinging slightly from the shallow cut that Ontari had done last night. 

She knelt down beside her bed and opened her chest of clothes, pulling out some thick fur-lined pants and a heavy sweater. Klark looked around the room furtively as she remembered the events from last night, making sure that none of the other sekons were looking in her direction before she quickly yanked off her sleep shirt and replaced it with her clothes for the day. As she sat on her bed to put on her boots, Ontari appeared in front of her, signature smirk on her face. “You’ve got a little  _something_ ... there,” she said, gesturing at Klark’s neck. Klark glared up at her. “Really? I had no idea” She replied sarcastically. “Thanks for that, by the way.” Ontari seemed to brighten at her sarcasm, eyes narrowing with humor as her smirk widened. “Anytime,” she replied with equal sarcasm, though Klark could tell that she probably  _would_ follow through with her statement, then walked to stand by the door where all the other sekons were standing ready, watching their interaction with strange expressions on their faces. They followed Ontari as she walked out, and Klark shoved her boots on and rushed to follow them.

The last traces of night still hadn’t faded away, and the darkness lingered on the edges of the horizon as they walked down the road towards they war camp. Though the city was mostly silent, the war camp was filled with the sound of early morning activities. Gonas milled about, eating breakfast around various cook fires or conversing with each other. The sounds of cheering rang across the camp, marking the beginning of another fight in the training pits. 

The dirt street crunched against their boots as they walked through the war camp, Klark quickly sidestepping to narrowly avoid getting run over by a horse. Soon arriving at the sekons training area, they descended down the steps to stand in front of their mentors. One of the mentors, a huge man, yelled something and everyone took off running. Klark looked to Roan who nodded his head in the direction that everyone had gone. “Go. It’s a clear path, you should be able to follow it.” She turned swiftly, running up the stairs and around the top the pit. Klark could see the start of the path at the edge of the war camp, and she ran towards it. 

As she ran down the path, Klark noticed that it must go around the perimeter of the entire city. If the loop around the war camp had been a mile and a half long, then this loop would be... she didn't know, but it would be over four miles. Klark could see the other sekons on the path in the distance, but she had started late and was considerably slower, so she knew that she wouldn’t catch up to them today. 

She weaved between various obstacles, almost running into several people in her route around the city. There were other people running too, so she assumed that this path was used for daily exercise if they couldn’t leave the city. Most of them were obviously gonas training, but there were a few who just seemed like ordinary citizens. Klark was fortunate that she had been forced to exercise on the Ark, because she was now able to run relatively long distances on the ground, which had certainly come in handy in the past few months. Though this path was much longer than the training route she did yesterday, it was mostly flat which was nice. Klark ran for what felt like hours, weaving in between buildings and other obstacles until she finally got back to the end of the path. She ran all the way to the training pit, not wanting to seem weak in front of everyone else, but they were all gone when she arrived, which was nice.

Roan was hacking at a wooden bust with his sword, only stopping to turn to her after she got to the bottom of the stairs. Klark sat down, exhausted. Though she couldn’t have been running for more than forty minutes, her legs were aching from the sudden exercise. “Good work. You’re faster than I expected, but you’re going to be doing a lot more running than that soon, so brace yourself.” She nodded tiredly, unable to speak just yet. “Grab some water, then start the dragon dance.”  _Ugh_.  Klark did as she was told, drinking a full cup of water from the pitcher. She then grabbed a wooden sword and walked to stand in the ring. 

Klark didn’t remember all the parts of the ‘dance’, but she started at the beginning with the more simple movements. Lunging out with her right foot, she slowly twisted through the air to stand with her sword pointed out like an extension of her arm. Twirling it above her head, she brought it back down in an ark as she stepped forward, walking in a semicircle around where her partner would be. She swung the sword in an intricate maneuver while quickly jumping back two steps, then Klark paced around her imaginary partner, swinging her sword through several movements that would one day sync with her partners, though the swords would never touch. Roan joined in after a few minutes, doing the same movements as her so that they were in sync, not the full dance that one would do with a partner. She followed his movements, pushing her strength and dexterity to the limit. The dance felt very freeing, though it was incredibly difficult, and she could feel her skills with the sword already improvingthrough the constant movement. 

After they finished the dance a second time, Roan started to say something but was interrupted by a slow clapping. Looking for the source of the noise, Klark turned towards the steps to see Ontari walking towards them.  _Of course it’s her. Why isn’t she training like everyone else?_ “ Teaching her the dragon dance already, Roan? Isn’t that too hard for a  _sky girl_?”  Well. That was one way to tell Roan that she knew Klark’s secret. He turned to Klark angrily. “You told  _her_ ?! What the hell, Klark, don’t you have any self preservation?” Klark widened her eyes at Ontari in exasperation, head moving forward slightly. “ _Seriously_ ,  Ontari ?”  Ontari looked very smug at at herself for disrupting their training, which Klark found incredibly annoying. She could deal with Ontari later, though, so she turned to Roan to explain. “It’s not like I had a choice,” she said, laughing without any real humor, “she saw my Skaikru clothes and attacked me.” 

Roan looked at Klark incredulously. “What Skaikru clothes? You were still wearing your clothes from the war...” Ontari looked disappointed. “So it’s true then. You are Wanheda?” Klark snorted. “Obviously.” “ _Obviously_ ,”  Ontari replied snidely, shocking Klark with her childishness. “Yeah,  _obviously_ !” Klark snarked back at her, not about to deal with her shit now that Ontari couldn’t kill her. “I told you last night,  _idiot_.”  Looking outraged, and slightly amused, Ontari shot back “you could have been lying! How was I supposed to trust you?” “You literally had me pinned to the wall with a knife to my throat! Why the hell would I lie?” Ontari smirked at that, raising her eyebrows. “Yes I did have you pinned to the wall with a knife to your throat. What about it?” “What do you mean, ‘ _what about it?’ You-_ what was I supposed to do? Lie to your face and hope you weren’t stupid enough to fall for it?” Instead of yelling back, Ontari just leaned forward and whispered, “ yes .”  _ Oh. My. God.  _ Klark could feel her face heating up as she leaned her head back, and ran her fingers through her hair in disbelief. “Ugh! You’re so-“ Ontari crossed her arms, satisfied smirk widening even farther. “I’m so what? Amazing?” “Wha- No!” Klark’s face was in flames as they continued to bicker, Ontari looking unbearably smug, her expression victorious.

Roan ignored them both and continued to think deeply as they argued. Klark opened her mouth to reply to Ontari when Roan interrupted. “Wait. Ontari figured out that you weren’t Azgeda because she saw your Skaikru underwear?” They both stared at him as mirth spread across his face, comprehension of Klark’s predicament only having just dawned on on him. He guffawed loudly, head thrown back. “That is the dumbest reason to get caught,  _ever_ ,  Klark. Discovered because of underwear!” She flushed even brighter, but had to laugh. The whole situation was hilarious now that her life wasn’t being threatened. “And Ontari! Why the hell were are you looking at Klark’s underwear?” Ontari replied easily, “she sleeps below me. I could see her from my bunk.” But Klark could see a light flush on her cheeks.  _Ha! She’s embarrassed too._ Roan smirked at Ontari, wiggling his eyebrows. “ _Really_?  Is that why?” Her face turned red, though Klark didn't really understand why.  _Probably an inside joke. They do seem to know each other..._

“Why are you here, Ontari,” said Roan, now mostly recovered from his laughter. “Surely you didn't come all the way here just to annoy us.” Ontari turned and grabbed a real sword from the weapons rack. “I came to train. My first is away on a mission so I have a free week. Annoying you is just a bonus.” Roan drew his own sword and stepped forward. “Well if you’re not doing anything, do the dragon dance with me. Klark needs to see what it’s supposed to look like.” He paused, then added, “You still remember it, right?” Ontari snorted. “Of course I still know it. You haven’t been gone that long.” Roan smiled, eyes narrowing in a challenge. “Good. Let’s do it at full speed, then.” Ontari simply raised her eyebrows and stepped forward to stand in the center, a pace from Roan. “You better move, sky girl, unless you want to get stabbed.” She called out, and Klark rolled her eyes but moved to sit on the steps, far out of the way anyway. 

Roan and Ontari stood at the center of the clearing, their swords pointed at the ground, hanging from their right hands. They both stared at each other, then suddenly sprung into action, swinging their swords around each other in constant movement. Every movement Roan made, Ontari did the opposite as they moved through the sequence at an incredible pace. Their swords never touched, but instead spun around each other. The beat of the dance soon emerged as Roan and Ontari’s footsteps moved in unison, hitting the ground at the exact same time, creating a steady beat. It was amazing to watch as they twisted around each other, swords flashing through the air almost too fast to see, somehow never colliding. One wrong move could end in death, yet they never faltered from their movements. She watched their movements, completely captivated by the amazing display of skill. Ontari might be annoying, but there was no denying her abilities with the sword. Klark would have to work hard to get to their level. 

When they finally stopped, swords held pointed at each others faces, they were both breathing heavily. Roan looked slightly...  _proud_ ? “I taught you well,” he said to Ontari, who smiled slightly.  _ Did she just smile? I thought they hated each other?  _ “I suppose, though I taught much of it to myself while you were banished.” She made a note to herself to ask Roan about that later. Ontari turned to face Klark, raising her eyebrows. “You're welcome for the demonstration. Maybe one day you'll be as good as me.” She laughed and walked over to the targets, grabbing some throwing knives. She called out over her shoulder, “I am going to train. You can go back to doing whatever you were doing before I graced you with my presence.” Roan rolled his eyes, turning back to Klark. “Now that you know what the dragon dance is supposed to look like, you know what we are working towards. We will continue to do it each day until you have the dance mastered, but right now we're gonna work on your skills with each of these weapons,” he said, gesturing to the wide array on the rack. Klark groaned. There was easily over fifteen different kinds of weapons laid out. This was going to take a while.

* * *

Many hours later, Klark had finally learned the basics of all of the weapons. Though she missed the easy simplicity in which she could shoot a gun, something about weapons training was very gratifying. The day had passed slowly, but it was now mid afternoon and she was even more exhausted. Ontari had left around midday when they had taken their lunch break, and Clark and Roan had trained in near silence since then, disrupted only by the occasional exchange of words or direction for the new weapon that she was using. Klark found that she was quite comfortable around Roan, and they got along well, not minding the easy silence that hung between them. 

As they left the training pit and walked through the war camp, Klark finally got the chance to ask Roan about Ontari. “I noticed that you and Ontari seem to know each other well. Why did you tell me to stay away from her?” Roan sighed, “the dragon dance is a very advanced training movement that only the highest trained warriors know. I am one of the most proficient warriors at it, so General Arah had me teach it to Ontari to further her training. I was banished during that time, but it seems that she managed to continue to learn it without me. As her teacher, I know her, but I warned you to stay away because she is dangerous. She would have killed you if you posed a threat to her position, but now that she knows you are Wanheda...” he paused in thought, then continued, “I don’t think she will try kill you. Ontari knows that my mother would have her head for it.” Klark nodded. “That’s good. I don’t think I’m able to stay away from her. It’s like she’s everywhere!” Roan laughed. “She does enjoy being annoying, but Ontari isn’t that bad once she decides that whatever relationship you have isn’t a weakness.” He glanced over at her as they neared the castle. “She thinks that feelings are a weakness, but if Ontari decides that whatever she feels is beneficial to herself, then she’ll let herself feel it. Friendship is hard for her, so she just bullies everyone to prevent herself from ever trusting them.”  _Woah_.  Klark laughed. “What is it with me and people who hate feelings?” Roan didn’t seem to understand who she was talking about, which was probably a good thing. Queen Nia didn’t need to know that the commander had felt anything for her, especially knowing what had happened to the last person Lexa had loved.

They walked up the street and through the door, past the guards stationed and by the castle entrance. Roan and Klark went their separate ways and she hurried to her bunk, desperately wanting to finally get clean. She knelt down beside her bunk to open her clothes chest to get a clean change of clothes, pausing when she realized that she had no idea how the baths worked. Klark looked around the room for someone to ask and spotted Alyalaying in her bunk. She had been nice, so Klark walked over to ask. “Hey Alya. Could you show me where the baths are? I’m not sure how to use it.” Alya looked like she did not want to get up at all, which made Klark slightly guilty, but nodded anyways. “Sure. Grab your towel and a change of clothes and come with me.”  _Towel? I have one of those?_ Klark went back to her bunk to look for a towel in her chest, surprising herself when she found one at the bottom. Surprised that she hadn’t noticed it before, Klark closed her chest and walked to the doorway where Alya was waiting. 

Klark and Alya walked down the hallway that she had been dragged down last night, then turned left at an intersection. Alya led her to a door a few paces down where she stopped by the the entrance. “This is the sekons bathing chamber. I think there are a few people in there already, but there is enough room for everyone.” She turned and walked back before Klark could ask what she meant by ‘a few people’. Klark really  _ really  _ hoped that she didn’t mean there was only one bath. She braced herself for the worst and pushed open the door.

Stepping into the wood paneled room, the air was heavy with steam, which slightly clouded her vision. Klark could see what looked like a large old world hot tub that was filled with soapy water. She could see both boys sitting a few feet from each other in the water, and Katea was sitting at the other end, all facing away from her. The bubbly water went to their shoulders so she couldn’t see anything else. They had to be wearing swimming trunks, though, right? The voice in her head told her exactly what it was, but she ignored the logic and instead prayed to whatever divine being was out there.  _ Please please please be wearing underwear. I can’t bathe with other people _ _!_ As Klark was debating leaving and staying dirty forever, Ontari walked in the door behind her.  _ No! Now I can’t leave without her thinking I’m weak.  _ “Is there only one bath?!” She squeaked out, avoiding eye contact. Ontari looked at her incredulously, “of course. “Did you not use communal baths in Skaikru?” Klark shook her head frantically. “There’s no water in space. I don’t even know how to swim!” Ontari stared at her, then laughed. “You can’t swim?!” “No! You know what, I’m just going to leave. I’ll just smell bad forever. Who cares?” She turned to leave, intent on following through with her plan, but was stopped suddenly.

Ontari had grabbed her arm, turning Klark back to face her and the tub. “You smell like shit. There’s no way I am sleeping near you when you smell like that.” Klark looked at her, debating whether she should run for it or not. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the sekons that were in the tub all stand up and grab their towels, and - _Oh fuck, they’re naked. They’re naked. Oh my god._ Her eyes widened as she immediately averted her vision, face turning red. “I’m not going to take a bath with other people!” Ontari just looked at her as if calculating something, a slight smirk lighting her face. “If you don’t take off your fucking clothes right now and get in, I will do it myself. And it will not be fun for you.” _She wouldn’t... right?_ Ontari continued speaking since Klark hadn’t moved. “You’ll have to get used to it anyways, so you are going to start right away.” Did she seriously have to make everything horrible? Klark glanced at the door, gauging the distance she would need to go. Ontari would doubtlessly force her to get in no matter what, but Klark had an idea. It was really stupid but it would be funny.

“ _ Fine _ ! Whatever, I’ll get in.” Klark pulled off her sweater and put it on the ground, stepping towards the pool. She stood by the edge and looked down at the water, waiting for Ontari to doubtlessly try and push her in. When she did step closer, Klark pretended to be unaware until she saw Ontari’s arm move in the corner of her eye, then she quickly stepped to the side and grabbed her arm, throwing her into the hot tub. Ontari screeched and hit the water flailing, still fully clothed. Klark ran out of the room and started down the hallway, laughing hysterically. Whatever Ontari did next would probably hurt, but it was worth it. She heard a few quick footsteps behind her, then she hit the ground. Rolling over, she saw a very wet Ontari standing above her. She cackled at her expression, “you look like a drowned rat! Oh my god!” “I’m going to fucking kill you,” Ontari growled and grabbed her leg, dragging her back down the hallway. Klark was unable to stop laughing as she was dragged down the hall and into the bathing room, bracing herself for the inevitable feel of water. Ontari stopped dragging her by the edge of the bath, dropping her leg. She lifted Klark up by her shirt collar - again - and threw her into the bath.

She landed upside down in the water, spinning a few times. Klark remembered that she couldn’t swim, then, though the water had seemed shallow enough to stand in. She moved her feet and made contact with the ground, standing up. Ontari was standing above her with her arms crossed triumphantly. They looked at each other for a moment and Klark saw a lump of soap that was still in Ontari’s hair. They both burst out laughing. “You look so stupid!” Ontari crowed, laughing loudly. “So do you, bitch! You’ve got soap in your hair.” Ontari just jumped into the bath next to Klark, still fully clothed. 

Klark pulled off her shirt. She was already in the bath, so she may as well get clean. Not looking at Ontari, she pulled off the rest of her clothes underwater, hearing Ontari do the same with her own. Ontari was, regrettably, right. She would have to get used to nudity if she was to live here. Modesty was not a luxury that sekons were afforded. “That wasn’t that bad, right?” Ontari called out. Klark snorted. “I’m going to have a rash on my back for days. That’s the second time you’ve dragged me across the floor and I’ve only been here for two days!” She could just tell Ontari was smirking. “Shut up!” Ontari gasped in faux offense. “I didn’t even say anything!” Klark rolled her eyes, “I can read your mind. It comes with the power of Wanheda.” Ontari snorted. “Sure it does.” Klark was very thankful for the soapy water and foggy air when she had to get out, as it obscured her vision partially. They returned to the sekons chambers before dinner, then ate quickly before returning to bed. 

* * *

Two years and 7 months ago: February 2150

After that night, the months flew by as Klark continued her training with Roan. She could easily see her improvement over the last few months, having gained a wide variety of new skills. Roan had taken her out of the city several times to go hunting, and she had used the furs to create her own white Azgeda coat, which made the harsh winter weather much more bearable. She was still learning the grounder language - trigedasleng, they called it - but she could now understand and speak much of it. Klark had trained all day everyday in order to become the best warrior that she could be, and it was paying off. She was now a formidable warrior, though both Roan and Ontari could still beat her easily. 

Klark had settled into her routine, the early morning runs through the snow covered city now a way of relaxing before training instead of the torture they had been at first. She trained in the uses of all weapons, but her favorites were still the bow and arrow and her sword. Klark could do the dragon dance better than before, but still by herself as she continued to make a few mistakes. The first snow fall had been months ago, but Klark still found it to be amazing. It was very  _very_ cold, but the snow draped city and the surrounding forests were beautiful. She trained with Roan each day, occasionally leaving the city to run through the snow or climb icy rock faces. It was difficult, but she was improving at an impressive rate. Klark had learned to be ruthless in her actions, no longer afraid of killing. Nia had forced her to kill many criminals - or people she said were criminals - without showing any emotion. If she showed emotion, then Klark had to kill more people. Needless to say, she quickly learned to conceal her emotions. The death hurt her at first, but she was used to it now. The Queen had a no tolerance policy for criminals, and Klark was often the one to kill them. Nobody but Roan and Ontari knew why, and probably just thought she needed the training, but Klark knew better. If she was Wanheda, she would need to command death, and Nia had decided that killing people was the best way to do that.

After the initial two days, Ontari was often present when she was with Roan and they continued to bicker constantly. Klark actually found it slightly fun, which was a bit strange, but she could come up with a retort faster than ever, so she supposed that it was slightly beneficial. Though Ontari was never actually nice to her, she never went out of her way to be cruel. Justto be very annoying. The other sekons were fairly nice to her, but she didn’t bother trying to get very close to them. Klark knew that she couldn’t rely on them very much, so she didn’t, learning to be independent as much as possible. 

It was probably around late February now, and Klark was finally ready to join the other sekons on their first assignment. They stood before their firsts in the training pit as Etan’s first spoke. “We are doing a patrol along the Trikru border. You will be separated into groups of two, and will be accompanied by one of your firsts. Each of you will be paired with your bunk mate, and Prince Roan, General Alana, and General Radro will be the firsts accompanying you.” Ontari glanced over at her from across the training area, though she didn’t seem to mind the idea very much. 

The sekons and the three firsts left the training area and went to the stables, each grabbing a horse. None of the sekons had been given their own horse yet, but the firsts each mounted their own. Once seated on her horse, a white stallion, Klark guided him into a walk beside Roan and Ontari. Roan had taught her how to ride, and now she enjoyed it immensely, though she had been very scared of the huge beasts at first. Once they left the city, they pushed the horses into a fast canter in order to reach the border by lunchtime. It was a simple mission, so there shouldn’t be any problems. 

The freezing wind whipped at Klark’s face as she rode through the snow covered forest, close by to the rest of the sekons. The ride was long and boring, no words exchanged for the most part as they crossed the clan. Hours later, they split into their groups to patrol their sections of the border, leaving their horses behind for better stealth. Ontari, Roan, and Klark walked side by side through the forest by the border, which was marked by a small creek that traveled most of the way through the Trikru border. As the afternoon past by, Klark wondered if her people were still looking for her. She hoped not, but if she knew anything it was that they would want her back desperately. She sighed. They were likely still looking. 

Running into Roan after he stopped suddenly, pulling them both behind a large tree, and covering their mouths so they wouldn’t make a sound. Letting go once he was sure they would stay quiet, Roan whispered. “Listen. I hear footsteps.” Suddenly alert, Klark peered around the edge of the tree to see if she could spot anyone. The footsteps got louder as they neared the border, then a mans voice rang out, sounding slightly familiar. “We can’t go past here. If Clarke was in Azgeda, then we would know. Nia would have already killed her to take the power of Wanheda” Klark’s eyes widened and she looked at Roan and Ontari who were both already staring at her. “Skaikru,” Ontari whispered. “They’re still looking for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the next chapter! Let me know what you all think. Also, do you guys think that I’m spending too much time on the flashback or no? If I stay at this pace it’ll probably be around 2 more flashback chapter before we get back to the main plot, but I could change it if it is getting boring. 
> 
> Please leave comments! They make me more motivated to write.


	7. Chapter 7

Two years and seven months ago: February 2150

**Klark**

“We can’t go past here. If Clarke was in Azgeda, then we would know. Nia would have already killed her to take the power of Wanheda” Klark’s eyes widened and she looked at Roan and Ontari who were both already staring at her. “Skaikru,” Ontari whispered. “They’re still looking for you.” Roan moved as if to grab her, but Klark waved him away. “I’m not going to go back to them,” she whispered as she looked out into the woods. “I just want to see if my friends are there. I want to see how they're doing.” Klark wasn’t going to leave yet, and she would fight him to stay where she was if she had to. She wanted to see if Raven or Octavia were there, even if she wasn't going to talk to them. Luckily for her, Roan just nodded his asent tiredly, sighing in annoyance at the prospect of sitting in the snow for even longer. Klark looked back towards the direction of Trikru and scanned the forest for signs of movement.  


They were all pressed together against the tree, still sitting in the snow, and she was getting cold fast, but she ignored it. Klark instead watched the woods for movement as Lincoln, for that was who was talking, continued to speak. “Clarke is much too valuable to fall into the wrong hands, Raven, but I’m sorry. It's been four months, and she was all alone in the woods during winter. There is no way Clarke survived it. She’s gone.”  _At least they'll never find me..._ Klark heard a sob, then Raven’s voice rang out. “No! She can’t be!” Raven sobbed. “I miss her so much.” There was a pause as the voices continued, quieter than she could hear, then a sudden scream rang out. “Clarke! Where are you?!” Tears glistened in Klark’s eyes as she heard Raven scream for her. She missed Raven and Octavia so much, but she couldn’t go back to them. They deserved better than to live in Camp Jaha, but there was no way for her to talk to them without her mother finding out. She would be forced to return to the Ark against her will, probably treated as if she was mentally ill. No, they wouldn't understand her decision. It was better that they got used to the idea of her being dead, because she wouldn’t make any more sacrifices for undeserving people. Even if that meant that she had to abandon her friends as well.

As she tried to hold back tears at Raven's heartbreaking scream, Klark felt a quick jerk on her coat and looked at Ontari, who pointed at a tree a few paces from them. Her eyes widened as she saw General Radro crouching on the roots of a large pine tree, raising his bow to point in Raven and Lincoln's direction. He pulled back the bowstring, arrow notched, and Klark didn’t even pause as she grabbed her knife and threw it directly at his neck, easily hitting her target after the long months of practice. His arrow shot way off course into the sky as Radro collapsed onto his back, crimson blood staining the snow below him. Klark heard the arrow strike a tree in the distance, then Lincoln's voice yelled, “Azgeda! Run!” and Klark could hear fast footsteps running away from the border, then the muffled sound of an engine.  _ Good .  They are safe now, and should be finally giving up on their search for me.  _ Pausing for a moment, Klark realized what she had just heard. Skaikru now had some sort of car, but where-  _Oh. They must have gotten one of the rovers from Mount Weather._ She knew that taking the rovers was a smart idea -they had probably taken other things too - but now they were more equipped to attack. And an attack was likely after Lexa's betrayal.  _Not your problem_ ,  she reminded herself. Klark would try to protect them from Queen Nia, but if any of their actions had consequences, then that was on them, not her. She had left for a reason, and Klark wouldn't ignore that.

As Klark started to stand up from her crouched position beside Ontari and Roan, a voice exclaimed, “Why did you kill him?! He was going to kill the Skaikru treaspassers.” Klark looked over, startled, as she hadn’t noticed Etan and Alya crouched near General Radro. That was bad. She should have been more alert. Klark started to come up with an answer, but Etan continued talking. “I heard the Skaikru shouting for someone named Clarke... wait.” He looked closely at Klark. “It’s you! Why are the Skaikru looking for Klark? The only reason would be... Klark is Skaikru? Why would the Queen allow a Skaikru in Azgeda? His eyes widened at the sudden realization. “You’re Wanheda!” Alya stared at Klark in shock. “Wanheda?! Everyone thinks that you died after the fall of the mountain! The people of Azgeda will be joyful to find that the Queen has claimed you.” Roan stepped forward slowly. “You will not tell anyone of this.” Alya looked at him, confused. “Of course we will. The people deserve to know that Wanheda has joined our ranks.” Etan nodded in agreement with Alya and looked at Roan as if challenging his decision. 

Roan slid his fingers along his knife but did nothing as the rest of the sekons and General Alana came running through the trees, stopping beside General Radro’s body. Alana looked at them in shock. “What happened?! Who killed him?” Before Klark, Roan, or Ontari could say anything, Etan interjected, “Klark did. She’s - “ but didn’t get the chance to finish as General Alana roared and charged at Klark, brandishing her sword. She stared in shock as the absolute giant of a woman ran towards her, frozen in place. A voice screamed in her head to move, and she quickly came back to herself, moving towards her knife, but it was gone.  _Shit. I already threw it at General Radro._ Bracing for the attack, Klark tensed as Alana neared them, preparing to dodge her sword strike. Instead of the attack she was expecting, Klark felt a slight movement to her right and saw Ontari’s sword spin through the air at an incredible speed, stabbing all the way through Alana’s chest. General Alana stopped moving and stumbled to the side, falling to the ground dead. All the sekons gasped, and Etan finished his sentence quietly. “- Wanheda.” The other sekons, who had surrounded their dead firsts, exclaimed in shock at the news. They wentthrough the same discussion as Etan had with Roan, and the other sekons unfortunately came to the same conclusion: that they would tell the people upon their return. Klark knew that this was a bad decision, but what could she do?

Roan said nothing in response to their decision and merely nodded, but Klark saw him exchange a sidelong glance with Ontari that lasted a few seconds. It was as if they were communicating using only their eyes... They only broke eye contact as the sekons moved to prepare a pyre for the dead generals.  _That was weird. What did it mean?_ As the other sekons left to go fetch some wood for the pyre, glancing at their dead firsts with varying degrees of sadness, Roan pulled Klark and Ontari to the side. 

Speaking to Ontari quietly, Roan said solemnly, “you know what you have to do now.“ She nodded and breathed in deeply as if to prepare herself for something and turned to pull her sword out of Alana's body without any remorse, then walked after the other sekons. Klark looked at Roan, confused. “What is she doing?” Roan pressed his lips together tightly. “She is going to kill them.” Klark stared at him in horror. “What?! Why would she kill them?” He looked at her sadly. “My mother has ordered that anyone who discovered who you were will be killed.”  _No! But they’re innocent..._ “What about Ontari? She knows who I am, too. Are you going to kill her?” He shook his head. “She is too valuable to be killed. My mother swore her to secrecy after I told her that Ontari knew. But the rest are... ‘expendable’”. Nia has ordered Ontari to " dispose" of them if necessary.  _Roan told her that Ontari knew? And expendable?! What!_

Klark gaped at him in shock, starting to speak in protest, but was cut off by a loud scream that cut off suddenly, and a following thud. She looked for the source of the sound in horror as multiple voices started shouting, though Klark could only make out Jack’s voice screaming, “Ontari! What are you doing?!” There were screams of agony as she heard Ontari reply faintly, “I’m so sorry. Queen Nia ordered me to kill anyone who discovered who Klark was.” Klark could hear the pain in her voice as Ontari continued to attack them, the wet thunk of sword hitting flesh sounding through the trees.  _Oh my god. No!_ Tears fell out of Klark’s eyes as she listened to the sounds of her fellow sekons being cut down. Clangs of metal rang out for a moment, but they were no match for her. Multiple screams of agony echoed through the forest, then complete silence.

The forest remained silent as Ontari appeared through the trees, face spattered with blood. She walked back towards them witout speaking, discreetly brushing a tear out of her eye with a bloodstained hand. Ontari was an incredibly skilled and downright bloodthirsty warrior who could fight better than most anyone Klark had ever seen, but she had been raised with the people she had just killed. Klark knew it had been hard for her to do, even if she had tried her best to distance herself from everyone. Klark had a lot of memories of good times with the sekons, and though Ontari had been a bitch to them most of the time, there were a few times where Klark wondered how hard she must have been working to keep her distance. Klark stepped forward and Ontari eyed at her wearily, as if waiting for an attack. Klark could tell that she wouldn't mind being punched right now, but instead of that, Klark pulled her into a hug. 

She stiffened, obviously not expecting it. Her hands were hands balled at her side, and she moved as if she wanted to pull away, but Klark didn’t let go, rolling her eyes. “I get that feelings are weakness or whatever, but you need this. Just hug me.” Ontari stayed still as if she was debating stabbing Klark in the stomach instead of retuening the hug, but she eventually relaxed after a few moments, actually hugging her back. “I’m sorry you had to do that,” Klark murmured into her shoulder. Ontari tensed a bit at her words, likely hating that Klark was being sympathetic instead of angry, but didn’t let go. After a few seconds, she responded almost too quietly to hear: “me too.” Klark could hear Roan move away and grab some branches for the pyre, she assumed. She opened her left eye and saw Roan watching them with a small smile on his face, wood in his arms. He gave her a thumbs up, almost dropping the wood, then continued building the pyre. Klark was surprised that Ontari was willing to hug her for this long, but she wouldn’t say anything about it. It was good that she was learning to have some emotions. Even if it was just pain over loss.

Though Ontari was never actually nice to her, they got along well enough through sarcastic comments and mini fights. Even though they were far from close, they had both just lost everyone they had been training with for months, or years in Ontari's case, so Klark figured that they could momentarily put aside their differences and deal with the other sekons deaths together. She continued to hug Ontari, a couple tears running down her cheek at what she had just witnessed. Klark was definatly no stranger to death and loss, but witnessing people she knew well die was very different than killing strangers during war. They would likely pretend that this had never happened later, but for now they held each other until Ontari pulled away after a few minutes, turning so Klark couldn’t see her face. She was probably embarrassed that she had let herself feel weak, so Klark didn’t say anything and instead went to help Roan move the bodies onto the pyre, leaving Ontari to stand by the horses. 

After it was completed, they stood together and watched the pyre burn down to cinders, then mounted their horses and headed back to Anolia, the six riderless horses trotting behind them. Klark rode back in silence, not breaking the heavy silence that hung between the three of them. Nia had ordered the deaths of many people, yes, but the sekons? They had been innocent! Just kids who had made an accidental discovery. They hadn’t deserved to die. She had known the sekons even longer than the delinquents, and she had just listened to them all die. Klark didn’t blame Ontari, though. Nia had ordered her to do it, so she had to do it. Even if it hurt her, failing to comply with orders from the Ice Queen resulted in death. They rode at a fast pace through the snowy forest, Klark not bothering to admire the scenery this time. She simply thought back on her favorite memories with the other sekons, the time they all slipped on an ice patch and fell into a snow bank in a huge pile of limbs lingering in her mind. 

The hours of riding flew by and they soon arrived at Anolia, the city lights illuminating their destination through the dim light of evening. The guards recognized Roan and opened the gates, looking confused at the small size of their party. Roan simply nodded at them as they entered the city, not giving them any explanation. Nobodypaid them any attention as they guided their horses through the darkening city and into the war camp. Etan’s first was waiting in the stables when they arrived, and as he beheld the empty horses behind them, his eyes widened in horror. “What happened?” Roan dismounted, Klark and Ontari following his lead. He went over and clasped Etan’s firsts’ arm. “I’m sorry, my friend. They discovered something that the Queen ordered to be kept a secret. You know how that goes.” He nodded sadly. “Etan was a good boy... they were all good kids. I’m glad you could keep these two alive.” That made Klark feel even worse, for she knew that the only reason they were all dead was because she and Ontari were alive. 

Roan pulled a thin rope necklace out of his pocket and handed it to the man. “This is his wolf tooth necklace. He would have wanted you to have it, Selva. Etan cared for you like he would a father.” Klark hadn't thought that Roan had been paying attention to the other sekons like that, but it seemed that she was wrong. Selva looked like he was near tears, but held them back as was required of gonas. No emotions.  _It really can’t be healthy for people to suppress their emotions like that..._ “Thank you, Roan. This means a lot.” Roan patted his shoulder sympathetically, then turned and guided Klark and Ontari towards the castle.  _Would they have to sleep in the sekons chambers still?_ _It would be very empty without anyone else in there besides the two of them..._ Klark didn't know if she could take living in a room with the constant reminder of who they had lost haunting her each night. 

nstead of letting them go back to the sekons chambers, Roan led them in the direction of the throne room. “We have to give a report to Queen Nia before doing anything else," he said as they walked through the ornate hallways. As they followed him, she looked around in awe. Klark had not visited this part of the castle since the day she was brought to Azgeda, and it still did not fail to impress her. The hallways were lined with red carpeting down the center instead of the plain stone like at the other side. Klark could see various rooms with comfortable chairs and-  _is that a library?! I didn’t know that any libraries had survived the bombs!_ That was exiting. Maybe one day she could go in and see what books there were. As they continued, she noted that the hallways were lined with lanterns that illuminated the dark stone, and there were a few old world statues placed tastefully near the wall.  _Queen Nia’s castle must have taken years to build..._

They arrived at the doors to the throne room where they stopped and waited to be admitted. One of the guards opened the door slightly and stepped in to announce their presence. “My Queen, Prince Roan is here with his sekons. Should I let them in?” There was a muffled response from inside the room, and the guard stepped back out and opened the door widely. “The Queen will see you now.”

After stepping through the door frame, they walked down the long red carpet and stopped a few paces from the throne where Queen Nia was sitting. Klark bowed alongside Roan and Ontari and waited for Roan to speak. “During our patrol, a sekon made the realization that Klark was Wanheda. Unfortunately, he told everyone else on the mission before he could be dispatched, so they were all killed as you ordered, my Queen. Generals Radro and Alana as well.” Roan didn’t mention Skaikru at all, which she was thankful for. The Queen might have attacked them if she knew that Klark had killed a general to save Raven. She was still under the impression that Klark did not care for any of the Skaikru, and while that was mostly true, there were still a few people who's safety was important to her. Niawould undoubtedly kill them just to get rid of her ‘weakness,’ and Klark didn’t want that. 

Nia peered at them, totally undisturbed by the loss of the sekons or her Generals. She waved her left hand in a dismissive motion. “None of them were important.” Klark felt Ontari stiffen slightly next to her, but said nothing as Nia continued speaking; “Well, Roan. It seems that you have managed to procure the two strongest candidates for the spots of General.” She laughed, and Klark nearly winced at the harsh sound. “Since there are no other candidates...”  _No other candidates? I thought that anyone could become a general._ “...Ontari and Klark will be the two new generals of Azgeda.” Klark was shocked.  _Already?! But I have only been here for four months! My training is not complete_.  She stressed about her new position as Nia continued talking. “As generals, you will continue your training when you are in Anolia, while also performing the required duties. If you fail to do so, you die. The two of you may be some of Azgeda’s best warriors, but you are not irreplaceable, even you Wanheda. I can always take your power another way.” She smiled sinisterly and they nodded at her dark statement. Failure would be punished with death, so Klark would not fail. “The maids will be preparing your new rooms and will find you when they are complete." They murmured their thanks and Queen Nia flicked her hand in a clear dismissal. 

They left the throne room and followed Roan into one of the sitting rooms in the main hallway, where he flopped onto a brown leather couch as if he was preparing to take a nap. Klark and Ontari each sat in an armchair across from the sofa, both tired from the long day of travel in addition to the sadness over the other sekons death. They all stayed silent for a while, and Klark wondered about the laws for becoming a General. She knew that you could challenge someone in single combat to take their rank, so it didn’t make sense that Nia would just appoint two sekons, no matter how talented they were. Neither of them had proved their worth yet. 

Too curious to wait until later, she disrupted the silent room to ask a question. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but Ontari and I became generals way too easily, right?” Roan grunted and didn’t answer, so Ontari spoke up from her lounging position on her chair. “She must really want us to be the new generals. There is usually a competition similar to that of the conclave for the commanders position, so just putting us into this position is nearly unheard of. We will both have many challengers, as our skills are mostly unknown to the people.” Klark leaned back into her chair and sighed. "Ugh, really?" Ontari huffed an amused laugh. "You have no idea. We will have to attend meetings and plan for wars, while also going on missions and defeating all challengers. It is a fight to the death, you know." She _did_ know that, and it was very unfortunate. Klark would have to keep training to improve her abilities while also preforming the duties of a general. She kicked her legs over the arms of the chair and relaxed her body, far from exited at her new position, though she was increasing her status  _and worth_ in Azgeda which would help her stay alive longer. She sighed.  _This is going to be even more work than being a sekon._

* * *

Klark woke up to a loud thump. Quickly jumping up from her position on her chair, on high alert, she scanned the room for a threat, mentally kicking herself for falling asleep in an unprotected area. Both Roan and Ontari were now awake as well, looking around the room for the source of the noise.A maid was kneeling on the floor by the entrance, picking up something she had dropped. She looked up at Klark’s movement, wide eyed. “I apologise my Prince, Generals, I didn't mean to wake you. The tin slipped and-” Klark waved off her apologies, hoping that she had a good reason to have woken them. “It's fine. Did you come here for a reason?” She nodded several times, looking at them wearily, in fear of punishment. “Your rooms are ready. There is a meal waiting as well." Roan groaned in relief. "Finally. We have been waiting for far too long." Klark looked at him in disbelief. "You were sleeping the whole time! What do you mean  _waiting_ ?" He rolled his eyes at her, and turned back to the maid. "Take them to their chambers." She quickly reverted her back expression from the curious one she had been wearing while Klark had been criticising Roan back to the emotionless one. "Of course. Follow me, if you will."

She led them through the hallways towards what Klark thought to be the North Tower, then up the spiral staircase to the next floor. The stairs opened into a very small antechamber with four wooden doors around the edges, all facing in opposing directions. The maid pointed to the two open doors that were adjacent to each other on the left side of the room. "These will be your new chambers, Generals. The other generals live in those rooms," she said while pointing at the opposing doors. "High General Phan sleeps on the floor above, which is all one large room. There is a bell inside that will summon a maid when you need them" Klark walked over to the left most door and thanked the maid for the information. She started to head into her room, but was stopped by Ontari's voice. "You're too nice to people." Klark turned back around and crossed her arms. Klark noticed that she still had blood smeared on her face, but kindly didn't point it out and instead responded to her statement. "What do you mean ' _you're too nice to people?_ '  I'm just being polite!" Ontari crossed her own arms to match Klark's position. "People will use any form of kindness against you. It is better to come off as rude than as weak." While Klark could see her logic, she knewthat kindness was not a weakness but a strength. 

People who treated others with kindness were more well treated by others, but instead of arguing with Ontari on that point, she continued the banter, glad for the distraction. "Speaking from experience?" "Obviously."Klark didn't expect that.  _Who had betrayed ontari? Was that why she thought that feelings were weakness?_ She ignored the last statement. "Whatever. I'm just glad we have our own chambers now so I don't have to share a bunk with you anymore." "You  _wish_ you were still sharing a bunk with me." Klark rolled her eyes, leaning agaist the doorframe. "You dropped several knives on me  on _purpose_.  You drag me across the floor randomly when you want me to do something that i don't want to do and you interrupt my training constantly. Obviously you will miss having  me  in your life so much, since you can't seem to stay away." She scrunched her face at that. "I will not!" Klark smirked at her weak response, and turned to enter her new room, lifting her right hand. "Sure you won't. See you around,  _General_." She heard Ontari growl in frustration and barely held in a laugh as she closed the door without looking back. It was best not to antagonize her any further.

She stopped after closing the door and took in her new room. It was fairly small, but in a cozy way. There was a bed bigger than she had ever slept in on the left side of the room, and a table fit for two people to the right, standing near a comfortable armchair. A large window in between the bed and the table let in the sunlight, and she would be able to see much of the city during the daytime. Her chest of clothes was now at the foot of the bed and she discovered that there was a small bathroom through a door just inside her room to the right.  _I have my own bathroom now? Finally._ She was glad that she didn't have to use the sekons public bathing room anymore. Klark assumed that during missions they would have to get clean without much privacy; probably in a lake or river, but at least it wouldn't be a daily occurrence.

Klark pulled off her fur coat and threw it onto a chair, sitting on the other one to eat her dinner. Her room was fairly dark, but there were a few lanterns that provided enough light to see by. She ate the roasted chicken and rice piled on her plate with relish, glad to finally be eating something good. Klark finished her meal quickly and walked into the bathroom to see if she could take a bath, but looked at the tub and sighed. There was no running water.  _Ugh_.  She left the bathroom and searched her room for the bell that the maid had mentioned, finding it by the door. She rang it, and there was a knock at the door not even a minute later. A maid came in and bowed her head in respect. "General. You rang the bell?" Klark didn't know what to do, so she simply nodded. "Would you mind drawing a bath?" The maid looked confused that she was asking instead of demanding, but simply said, "of course, General Klark. I will fetch the water." and disappeared.

Klark felt bad as she watched the maid carry buckets of steaming water into her room, but there was nothing she could do to help. After several trips, the maid stopped by the door. "Your bath is ready, General. To drain it, simply pull the plug at the bottom."  _So they have a way to get rid of the water. Thats useful._ Klark thanked her and she turned and exited the room.  _Oops. I forgot to ask for her name... Oh well. I'll get it tomorrow_.  Ready to get clean, Klark stripped her clothes off without ceremony and threw them over her coat, immedietly heading for the bath. She stepped in and sat down, sighing at the heat. Klark relaxed into the tub as she washed her body, glad to get rid of all the dirt from today's ordeal. Tomorrow she would commence her duties as a General of Azgeda. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it 12:30 AM as I’m posting this? Yes. Do I have the PSAT tomorrow? Also yes. Anyways... we are nearing the end of the flashbacks! Only 2 (or maybe 3 but probably not) chapters left then we can get back to the present! I’ve got a lot planned for that, so yay. And for those who want to see Klark getting her wolf... you shouldn’t have to wait much longer. It may make an appearance next chapter. 
> 
> Also, poor sekons 😔 they didn’t deserve to die. Oh well, they ded now, oop (sorry, I’m tired)
> 
> As usual, leave comments and kudos! I love hearing feedback from you guys, and thank you for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Two years and seven months ago: February 2150

** Klark **

Klark stood around the meeting table with Queen Nia and the other generals. Nia was discussing something with the High General, but Klark was completely ignoring her, still replying her first encounter with the other generals over and over in her mind. Just minutes ago she had entered the meeting room behind Ontari and stood at the seat across from her, the only empty spot at the table. Silence had reigned for a moment, then a thin reedy voice sounded out in the large chamber, raking her ears. “So, these are the new generals.” Klark had turned to look for the source of the sound and made eye contact with an absolute giant of a man standing opposite to the Queen. Standing over a foot taller than her, black hair so short it was nearly shaved off, she could already tell he was the perfect example of why the other clans despised Azgeda so much. Other than queen Nia, of course. The man, who she knew had to be High General Pahn, sneered at her and Klark despised him immediately. "My Queen," he started, "I do not question your decisions, but may I ask why you have appointed two sekons as Generals? The gonas will be disappointed that they did not have a chance to compete in the Generals’ tournament, and they lack the experience needed to lead." 

Nia was unphased by the question, not seeming to care that he  was,  in fact, questioning her decision. "Good. They will need the challenges."  _What, Nia wants us to be challenged?_ Klark rolled her head back slightly at the novelty of her thought.  _Of course she does. She wants me to prove that I am more useful to her alive._ "As for the reason... you will see. For now, Generals, make your introductions." The other Generals looked displeased at the idea that Klark and Ontari hadn't had to fight for their new positions as they had, but reluctantly did as she asked. Klark quickly learned that the tall blonde man standing next to her was General Arah. She knew that he was Ontari’s father, but it was clear that they had no connection whatsoever. They didn’t even acknowledge each other, which she found a bit strange, though it did match the no emotions rule that the warriors had in Azgeda. But to carry that through with your own daughter... 

Moving on from her deliberation, she could see that his hair went to his shoulders and was pulled back in the way that Roan's had been when he'd captured her, his face set in a permanent scowl.  _I guess that's where Ontari got that from. Moody must run in the family._ The last General was General Selera, a short brunette woman with a piercing stare. She didn't seem particularly mean, but Klark would play it safe and only act her strongest around any of them. They were all already much older than her and Klark felt quite out of place, so she would need to keep up the facade that she was just as stony and cold as they were until it became real. No kindness could be shown around the other generals.  _Well except Ontari_ ... Klark would just have to trust her.

Interrupted from her thoughts by a movement out of the corner of her eye, she turned to her left just in time to see High General Pahn nod at something Nia said. "Very well. I will take my warriors and hunt them down."  _What?_ Klark had no idea what they were talking about. “Good,” Nia said. “As for the rest of you, you will remain in Anolia and continue your duties. Dismissed.”  _Uh... I guess I’ll go talk to Roan._ Klark turned to leave but was quickly called back. “General Klark, stay,” said Queen Nia. She turned away from the door to face the table once more, waiting for the rest of the Generals to leave the room, which they did quickly. 

Once they were alone in the large meeting room, Queen Nia looked down at Klark from her elevated position on her throne. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. “Your limited knowledge of Azgeda makes you a liability,  _Wanheda_ ,” she said, pronouncing Klark’s title with a sneer, “and I will not have any source of weakness in my army. You will remain in Anolia until you have proven yourself to High General Pahn, only leaving the city to accompany him on his missions.”  _No! He already hates me. Forcing him to guide me around wherever he goes will just make it worse_.  Not caring about Klark’s opinion on the matter, Nia continued. “You will continue training with Roan when you are in Anolia. During that time, you will likely have to defend your status in a challenge. If you die, then all of Skaikru dies.” Klark started to protest, “But the Skaikru mean nothing to me-“ Nia laughed. “They were once your people. I’m sure that there are  some of them that you still care for . ”  _Octavia and Raven..._ “ I would train hard to ensure your safety in the coming months,  _sky girl_ ,  or the people you once cared for will all die with you. Now, High General Pahn leaves at dawn tomorrow. Meet him in the stables and do not be late. You may go.”

She nodded curtly and turned from the table, leaving the room. As she walked back to her chambers, Klark sighed. She hated that the Skaikru were being used to ensure her maximum effort in self-preservation. She had left her people for a reason, yet they were still managing to control her. They had solely relied on her to make all of their decisions, yet had criticized them all. She had been forced to take charge so they didn't end up killing themselves because of their idiocy, yet none of them had recognized her efforts and had instead only noticed her faults. While she was irritated that Nia could use them against her like that, the idea of her friends dying was still unbearable to Klark, and that would need to change. She had to be stronger than that if she was going to survive here. 

* * *

She walked quickly into the war camp just as the sun broke over the horizon, her pack swaying on her back. Klark’s bow hung over her shoulder and the two knives that Roan had given her yesterday were strapped to her thighs. As she neared the stables, she could see the High General sitting by his horse next to about twenty gonas who regarding her approach with great interest. It seemed that they were all curious about the new General. Klark was slightly nervous but did not show it. She would prove herself to everyone, and to do that she would need to be respected. “General Klark,” drawled Pahn, looking disappointed that she was on time. He stood up and motioned to the stables. “Come with me.” Looking at his gonas as they walked towards the short building, he yelled, “prepare your mounts! We leave at dawns end.” 

As soon as they entered the dusty stables,he pulled her roughly to the side and whispered menacingly, "I don't know why Queen Nia made you into a General without the competition, but you are no General to me until you prove yourself. At least Ontari is well known for her skills. I have never even  _seen_ you before.” Klark shoved the huge man away from her, not knowing exactly what she was supposed to say. “The Queen has her reasons. I do not know why she chose Ontari and I as Generals instead of having us participate in the competition.” A blatant lie on her part. She knew exactly why Nia wanted her, but Klark wouldn’t tell him that. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “And if you touch me again, I will end you.” He looked her up and down, then laughed. “You can try,  _girl_ ,  but you'll never be as good as I am.” Well if that wasn’t the best incentive that she needed to work hard, then Klark didn't know what was. She narrowed her eyes at him, but ignored the statement and turned to find her horse. It was a battle for another day, when she was stronger. 

Klark chose the same brown mare as usual and quickly tied her pack to the saddle, her movements stiff with anger.  _Remember, you can't do anything rash until you have the training to back it up._ Klark knew she was good at fighting, quite good in fact, but she was no match for the High General of Azgeda yet. No, she would continue her training until she was the strongest warrior possible.  I will need other sources for training too. _Maybe I could start fighting in the training pits_... Klark thought not, but i t was an idea for later. She had to focus on the mission, though she still didn’t know what it was. 

Klark quickly leapt onto the horse and guided her out of the stable to stand at the head of the small army beside High General Pahn. He ignored her and turned his horse to face the gonas. “Warriors of Azgeda. There are intruders in our lands, and we must find them.”  _Intruders... Not people from the other clans?_ The gonas looked slightly puzzled too, but they hid it well, ready to follow his orders. Fortunately, he elaborated further, “The banished people of the coalition have been entering our borders from their exile in the high north. As you all know, anyone to return from banishment is to be killed immediately. We will do as ordered  _after_ observing them. Move out.” He turned his horse and urged it towards the camp gate, forcing Klark to react quickly to stay in front of the gonas. _What an asshole._

They left the city, people cheering for them in the streets.  _That’s new._ Now that she wasn’t a sekon anymore...  _don’t think about them. Don’t..._ people would actually pay attention to her now. She could faintly hear whiskers of ‘the new General’ and other gossip from her position just behind Pahn. Klark sat tensely under the intense scrutiny of the crowds until they passed through the gates, relaxing slightly once the noise of the city faded into the muffled footsteps of the horses as they moved through the snow. As the forest passed by, Klark wondered about the people entering Azgeda.  _ Surely they know better than to enter the coalition lands, so why are they here? They must have a motive...  _ She assumed that they would soon figure out what it was.

Klark paused her deliberation to enjoy the momentary peacefulness, despite the frigid wind. The gonas behind her rode in complete silence, perfectly disciplined.  _ Pahn must have trained them himself.  _ A strange thought.  _ Do High Generals train their own Warriors? It would make sense. They could be certain of their army’s strength before the battle. But what about regular Generals? Would Klark have to train her own gonas too, or would they be trained with the others?  _ It would be very inefficient for each General to train their own army, so it was likely only the High General who personally trained their gonas. But if Klark beat Pahn in a fight, then she would be the High General. Was that what she wanted? It  _ would _ certainly be a good way to increase her worth to Nia...

The High General raised his hand and Klark stopped her horse immediately, thankful for the past months of intensive training with horses. They had arrived within sight the north eastern border, marked by a strip of land that had no trees. During the winter, the valley was transformed into an icy expanse that was very difficult to cross, but it seemed that some of the Banished had managed the task. Klark could see a few people walking very close to the border, looking towards the forest furtively. 

Pahn turn his horse to face the gonas behind them. He spoke quietly to avoid detection; “Tie your horses here and spread out through the edge of the forest. Observe the intruders until the attack horn sounds, then kill them all. Leave no survivors. Go now!” The gonas leapt off their horses and quickly tied them to the nearby trees, High General Pahn and Klark only seconds behind them.  _I guess that the High General participates in attacks like this too._ She didn't know why she was surprised, but for some reason Klark had thought that he would just stand back and observe.  _A stupid idea_ , she realized.  _No Azgeda warrior would simply stay behind during a battle, no matter their rank._ Klark crept towards the edge of the woods, her mind silencing as she focused on her task.

She could see about ten people standing on the Azgeda side of the border. They seemed to be in the midst of an intense discussion, and Klark could only make out a few muffed words due to the distance between them. One man spoke loudly enough for her to hear; "We need to go back! You all know the rules, we'll be killed as soon as a patrol comes through. We barely avoided the last one!" The man stabbed his arm towards the woods in a wild gesture and continued to speak. "You know I barely survived the Mountain. I am not risking my life for something unnecessary. We  _have_ food!" Some muffled discussion followed and Klark could only make out a single response, "No. We need more of it, and..." her voice cut off, and just as Klark was about to move to a better location, she heard one faint word. "...revenge." She immedietly turned back to stare at the group of invaders.  _What? If they want revenge, then Azgeda is in danger. There are villages nearby, and Anolia is far too close to the northern border to be safe from an attack._ Klark would have to get one of the intruders to talk before she killed them.

A horn sounded and the group of people jumped, looking at the forest in fear before they started to sprint towards the valley. Klark drew her knives and leaped forward, bursting out of the woods with the rest of the gonas and sprinted after the fleeing intruders. Her daily running had paid off and she was faster than ever, even with the snow slowing her down slightly. As Klark neared the runners, she heard the man who had been at the war with Mount Weather yell, "I fucking told you, Marta!" as he fled. She snorted at that. It was too bad that he had to die now, since she had already saved his life once at the Mountain. 

Once the Azgedan gonas started to catch up to the Banished people, screams rang through the air as they were killed mercilessly. Some of them tried to fight, but were no match for the large amount of gonas cutting them down. Klark slit a woman's throat without any remorse as she ran by, nearing her target: the man who had protested their presence in Azgeda. Instead of killing him immedietly, she threw a knife at the back of his thigh, making the man crash into the snow. Klark looked around the field and took note of everyone's position before crouching beside the man. She yanked the knife out of his leg and rolled him onto his back, whispering harshly, "Answer my questions and you die painlessly. Understand?" He groaned, shutting his eyes in pain as blood continued to flow out of his leg, but nodded. " _Good_." she whispered in a threatening tone. "Now why are you here?" He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Pahn. “Are you defying an order from you high General, girl? I ordered you to kill them on sight.” Klark bristled. _Girl?! I’m a General, only one rank below him._ Klark steeled herself against the incredible urge to stab him in the stomach and turned back to the man lying on the ground, needing the answer. His eyes had opened at the new voice, and they widened as they met her own, recognition lighting his face. "I was at the Mountain" He croaked in a shocked voice, ignoring her question. "You- you're Wan-" _Shit_. Klark slit his throat quickly, and the young man's words cut off into a bloody gurgle as his body slackened. She stood, looking up at Pahn, who towered above her. "He was _about_ to tell me why they were here," she responded, annoyed that she hadn't been able to interrogate the man. His presence had forced her to kill the Banished man sooner than she wanted, but Klark didnt think that he had heard the Banished man's last words, which was fortunate.

The High General scowled at her and turned back towards the forest. "No matter, they are only testing the borders. We will kill any that enter Azgeda, and they will soon learn to respect the borders once more." Klark had the nagging feeling that it was worse than that, but she had no proof besides a faint 'revenge' she had heard. Pahn would likley blow it off as her imagination, so she remained silent. "Back to the horses!" he yelled, and the gonas turned in unison from their postions and walked back into the forest, leaving the scattered bodies behind. Klark knelt down to wipe her knives in the snow, leaving twin streaks of blood, and stood up to move towards the forest. Speeding up her pace until she was beside the High General, she asked, "What about the bodies?" He continued to walk towards the forest, probably cursing her curiosity, but eventually answered. "We leave them as a warning for the Banished. They deserve none of Azgeda's respect." She nodded. It _would_ certainly send a warning to the Banished. Klark just hoped that nothing bad would happen because of it.

Leaving the bloodstained valley behind them, the small army returned to Anolia. The trip back was much shorter than the one she had taken yesterday, since the capitol was quite close to the northeastern border of Azgeda, and Klark enjoyed the shorter ride. Soon, the city came into view below them and she pulled her horse to a stop behind Pahn, the rest of the gonas stopping just behind her. As they rode down the hill towards Anolia, Klark contemplated how everyone already knew who she was. She had only been a General for a day, yet the people already knew her as General Klark.  _Perhaps Azgeda has some way of showing the Generals. Maybe someone draws the Generals so people recognize them..._ It was unimportant. She focused on directing her horse through the throng of people cheering for their return. Or more likley: the return of the High General, since he was the most celebrated person in Azgeda, second only to the Queen.   


Klark followed Pahn into the war camp, the gonas following closely behind them. After leaving her horse in its stable to be tended to by the stablehands, she retreaed to her chambers, leaving the High General to report back to Nia. He hadn't mentioned it to her, so she hadn't gone. It was  _his_ mission after all. It was still midafternoon and Klark certainly had the time to go train with Roan, but she was very tired. Klark would continue training tomorrow in prepearation for the inevidable challenge. 

* * *

The next morning, Klark’s sword collided with Roan’s as they moved though an intense series of movements. They fought in the Generals' training area now that she was no longer a sekon, and it was much bigger. While the General's training area still had a fighting pit for competitions, it wasn't the only part of it. and there was more training equipment that they hadn’t had as sekons. None of the other Generals were there either, besides Ontari who was aggressivley throwing axes at a target dummy, so they had most of the space to themselves. 

Klark had improved incredibly in the past months, graduating from the wooden sword only a few weeks after she had arrived. Training all day every day with Roan had given her a clear advantage over the other gonas, who only trained a few times a week. Though she was far from being as skilled,  _or vicious_ ,  as Ontari, Roan had mentioned that Klark could likely defeat most gonas in the Azgeda army, which was a comforting notion as she was essentially just waiting for a challenge.

As if the thought had summoned them, a group of gonas burst into the training area, disrupting Klark's movements. She lowered her sword from its position in the air and turned to face them directly, Roan matching her movements. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ontari drop her axes and come to stand near Klark, eyes narrowed at the intruders. "What is the meaning of this? You know the rules. Gonas cannot be in the Generals’ training area without a proper reason." A huge man stepped forward and regarded Ontari evenly, not threatened by her dangerous tone, which would have been a grave mistake had they not been in the city. "I do. So you know the reason I have come." He turned to face Klark. "General Klark, I challenge you for your position as a General of Azgeda!" The men behind him cheered and he looked down at her, obviously confident that he would win. Klark stepped closer and raised her chin. “I accept your challenge, gona.” Then, lowering her voice into a menacing tone, she continued, “I hope you are prepared to face your death.” He laughed, he actually  _ dared  _ to laugh at her. “We shall see who lives through the morning,  _ General _ .” He smirked, then turned around and led his friends away, leaving her shaking in anger.

Breathing in deeply and stilling all of her movements, Klark smiled slowly, without any real humor.  _ People always find the perfect way to motivate me to crush them, don’t they. He has no idea what’s coming.  _ _Klark turned from her position to face Roan a_ nd Ontari, and she must have had a frightening expression on her face because Roan actually blanched when he saw her. Regarding him evenly, Klark simply stated,“Don’t worry. He dies today.” Unclenching her fingers from around the sword that she had been gripping tightly, Klark quickly slid it into the scabbard on her back. When she looked up, Roan was still staring at her and Klark sighed. “What?” He shrugged, lifting his arm to place his own sword into its scabbard as well. "I've never seen that expression on you before." She lfted a shoulder in a partial shrug, not deigning to answer. Klark had to prepare for the challenge, which would be in two hours time, per the rules of Azgeda. She could have chosen to do it immedietly, but it was in her best intrest that she got the necessary preparation. 

"Do you want to help me get ready?" Roan scoffed. "Of course. I haven't spend all these months training you just to watch you die in your first challenge." She looked at Ontari who shook her head. "I am going to continue training." Seeing Klark's faux sad expression, she rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. "I'll be at your challenge, idiot. Now go get ready." Klark made a face at her but ignored the opening for an argument and turned to walk back to the castle, Roan beside her. 

Once in her chambers, Roan looked around in slight awe. "Your chambers are bigger than mine, and i'm the Prince!" Klark laughed. "Alright, what do I need?" Roan looked around again, this time scrutinizing her belongings. "What you're wearing is sufficient, but put on the leather chest plate too. Take your sword, and the other one too." Seeing her doubtful expression, he tilted his head in exasperation. "You know that you can fight with dual swords, Klark." She wasn't certain about that, but it would be good to have both. When he didn't continue, she asked, "What about the knives? I am good with those." He shook his head. "In Azgeda, you can only have one type of weapon in a challenge. While you are excellent with the knives, they will not protect you from an attack. Now..." he looked around, frustrated. "Do you have no warpaint?"  _Warpaint_?  Seeing it in her expression, he simply went to the bell on her wall and rang it to summon a maid, who arrived at the door in mere seconds.  _How the hell are they so fast?!_ Roan quickly ordered her to bring a tin of warpaint and she nodded, leaving the room immedietly. She returned in less than a minute carrying a metal tin. "Will that be all, my Prince?" Roan nodded, distracted by the tin. "Yes, you may go." She left the room so quickly it was as if she had vanished.

Roan looked up after opening the tin, which was filled with a white substance. "You will need your own pattern for your paint. Just dip your finges in and make a pattern on your face. I recommend something rough and easy to do."  _Rough and easy to do... hm._ Klark decided to just go for it and dipped the three middle fingers of her right hand in the powder, drawing them diagonally across her face, her index finger crossing her right eye. Then she used a single finger to etch a vertical line down the left side of her face that curved almost to her chin, and another short line above the stripes. She looked up at Roan and raised her eyebrows. "Perfect. Its time to go to the challenge arena now. Lets go." They left her room, Klark now carrying another sword over her black leather armor.   


Looking at the crowds around her, Klark nearly groaned out loud. Somehow, it seemed that all of Anolia knew of the challenge. Even Queen Nia was sitting on a throne above the square where the fight was taking place. They made eye contact and her expression conveyed exactly what Klark had to do.  _Win or the Skaikru die with you._ While the idea of death was certainly a good incentive, it was really the challenger who would drive her to victory. She didn't even know his name, yet as she stood across from him, an intense hatred rose at his smugness. He had never even  seen  her fight, yet was so self assured in his victory. Well... Klark would prove him wrong.

Klark pulled her fur coat off, leaving just her fighting clothes. Roan and Ontari appeared in the teeming crowd beside her, and Klark stepped slightly closer. Roan looked worried, but didn't say anything and just nodded at her. Klark couldn't quite read Ontari's expression, but she soon spoke up. "Nice warpaint."  _Nice Warpaint, really?_ Obviously reading the mocking expression on Klark's face, Ontari rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Don't die, I guess."  _Aw, she does care. At least a tiny bit..._ "You think  _he_ can kill me? C'mon, you know i'm better than that." Ontari's mouth turned up in her usual smirk, with a slight touch of genuineness. Roan spoke before she could respond. "It is time. Good luck, Klark." She nodded at him solemnly and turned to the center of the arena.

A man that she didn't recognize stood next to Nia, and he lifted his hand, silencing the crowds immedietly.  _Impressive. I need to learn that trick._ "The gona Rhynn has challenged General Klark for her title and position. A fight to the death will decide the victor." He droped his hand and a quick drumbeat started playing. Klark stepped forward, unsheathing both swords in a quick movement. Rhynn smirked at her, pulling out a single broadsword. They began circling eachother, and Klark narrowed her eyes in concentration as she analysed his movements. His eyes soon gave away his intent when he looked towards her right leg, showing her exactly where he was about to move. He darted forward and Klark leaped back, having already expcted the attack, and swung her sword at his back. Blood flew through the air as he grunted in pain, but he didn't fall. A shallow cut was not enough to down an Azgeda gona.

Rhynn looked at her differently this time, finally realizing that she could fight better than he had expected. Klark bared her teeth, shouting a war cry as she leaped through the air. He backed up as they exchanged a series of blows, the crowd standing around them cheered loudly. For a moment, Rhynn gained the upper hand and pushed her backwards. Her heart faltered as his sword swung for her neck, but she managed to lean backwards and avoid it. Rising up as soon as it passed, Klark rose up and kicked out with her left leg, knocking the gona onto his back. He immedietly rolled to get up but Klark was faster, stabbing her sword down towards his stomach. She missed her target slightly and widthdrew the blade from his side, Rhynn's blood swelling immedietly as he stood, wobbling slightly. Klark tilted her head to the left a bit and smiled darkly at the gona, spinning her sword. His eyes widened and he reached down for the sword he had dropped. Not giving him the time to lift his weapon, she lunged forward and stabbed him in the heart. Rhynn was dead before hitting the ground. 

Klark scowled down at him, remorseless as the crowd cheered loudly at her victoy. Rhynn had challenged her, and he had died for it. Perhaps that would disuade any future challengers. She looked up at the throne, meeting Nia's eyes. The Queen looked very satisfied at her victory. She looked to the announcer next to her and he raides his hand once more to silence the crowd. "General Klark has defended her title." The crowd cheered for her loudly and she stood with her chin raised, embracing it. After a moment, she bowed her head to Nia then moved to join Roan and Ontari.

* * *

**Ontari**  


Klark’s blue eyes met hers and there was something different in her expression. Ontari was slightly concerned at first, as it was almost as if she was a different person, but the concern quickly shifted into slight respect, though she would never tell anyone that. Besides, it was only a small bit. While Ontari had expected her to win, Klark had been victorious much faster than she had expected.  _So the sky girl has some skill after all._ She was hardly injured, a small scrape on her arm the only sign that she had even been in a fight. Ontari knew that she had been training every day, and its impact was obvious. Klark was no longer weak, though Ontari was still much better, obviously. 

People had started leaving now that the fight was over, and she followed Roan and Klark out of the arena. The pair bumped fists for some reason, which was a strange gesture that she didn't understand. They did that sometimes and Ontari was still confused about it. She supposed that it was a Skaikru thing, but it was still very odd. 

While Roan and Klark went back to the castle, she instead chose to continue her training, deciding to feed her desire to attack something. The walk was short and she arrived back at the empty training area in minutes, heading immedietly to the targets. Ontari grabbed her sword from its sheath and flung it at the small target, hitting it directly in the center. It reminded her of how she had killed General Alana to protect Klark during their scouting mission. That _had_ been an excellent shot. She didn't want to talk about that day, though. Not ever. Ontari had just been following Queen Nia's orders as was required, but what she had done... _No_. Not wanting to think about the sekons that she had killed, Ontari grabbed a bucket of knives and threw them at the target relentlessly, still with pinpoint accuracy. 

That day had been strange, though. After she had done...  _it_ ,  Ontari had completely expected Klark to attack her. Wanted her to, actually. Though she had done well in blocking her emotions, killing the people she was raised with still hurt, even if it was  _ just  _ a bit. Feelings were a weakness, she knew that, but Klark had  _ hugged  _ her. A hug! She had been so weak in that moment it was embarrassing. She had even hugged Klark back, like what the hell had come over her?

What made it even worse was that Ontari wasn't able to hate Klark, for some bizarre reason, and it bothered her immensely. Emotions made you weak, but how was she supposed to block them without hatred? Unlike the other sekons had been, Klark wasn’t scared of her. Not really. And Ontari found that extremely annoying because she could always look down on someone for being weakened by their fear and hate them for that weakness, but Klark didn't fear her. It was very problematic.

Also, their constant arguments were actually quite fun; arguing about trivial things made life much more intresting. Especially when they ended up actually fighting. Klark was stronger now, but Ontari was still much better than her. “ Arghh!”  She screamed in frustration and flung the remaining knives at the targets, which now looked like a porcuipine she had seen once.  _That's weakness!_ She groaned, walking forward to collect her knives, pushing the troublesome thought out of her mind. It didn't matter, really. She had other things to focus on now, namely her duties as General. Ontari was bound to get challenged as well, but Anolia's gonas knew that challenging her would be suicide. She was already known to be one of the strongest warriors in Azgeda dispite her young age, but there would be at least one idiot who thought he could beat her.  _ As if.  _ The thought was amusing. It would certainly be one of the gonas from a different part of Azgeda who didn't know of her reputation.  _They were always so sure of themselves._ Ontari smiled slightly. _At least until she killed them._

* * *

One year and ten months ago: November 2150

**  
Klark**

After that day, Klark had acclimated into her life as a General. Being a General was certainly more work than being a sekon, but she had come to enjoy helping the people of Azgeda, though she really had no choice in the matter. She did what Nia odered her to do, and provided some input on meetings, though none of the other Generals really respected her yet. Klark had traveled across the clan on various missions, and had learned that most parts were neither as modern or nice as Anolia. Many villages were just simple wooden homes and shops with less than two hundred inhabitants. They did not have the luxeries nor the oppulence that the capitol did, but they made do. There was a clear divide between the wealthy and the poor in Azgeda, but Klark did her best to aquaint herself with people from both sides when she could. 

Thirteen people had challeged her for the position of General, a record number in Azgeda. Over the months, scars had accumulated all over her body from both minor and severe injuries, and she now had the scars of a hardened warrior. In stark contrast to Klark'snumerous challenges, Ontari had only been challenged once, but it was very clear that she wouldn't be challenged again. Her challenger had been redued to a still-living bloody pulp in less than a minute, and she had clearly just been toying with him. The display had shown Klark the true monster inside Ontari, and watching her tear him appart was not a pleasant experience. Klark supposed that she had her own inner monster when it came to battle, but unlike Ontari, she still had reservations on what she would do to other people, whether they were enemies or not. At least she did presently, but who knew what could bring out that monster in her. 

Since her first challenge, the days had bled into weeks as the final days of winter slipped away, spring creeping in before she'd even noticed, too occupied with her duties as General to note the changing seasons. Summer had passed quickly, bringing some very frightening swimming lessons along with it, but at least she wouldn't drown anymore. Klark had eventually gotten High General Pahn to acknowledge her capabilities as a General to Queen Nia, so she was finally able to lead her own missions by the end of summer. Pahn was still overly rude to her so Klark maintained her goal to usurp him. Had he simply been civil to her, she might have discarded the idea of a challenge, but Klark had learned some key things about the High General while working with him, the main one being that he didn't actually care about Azgeda. All Pahn wanted was power, but instead of earning it he ignored the needs of the people and just helped himself. It was truly disgusting, and he  _needed_ to be removed from power. 

Klark's horse tossed her head, jolting Klark from her memories. She and Ontari had been put on a mission together for the first time, and their combined force was around fifty gonas to patrol the border. It was a lot, but the amount of the Banished being spotted had risen much over the past months. They were up to something, but she didn’t know what. 

Klark and Ontari rode in silence, side by side, the gonas at their backs following their direction as they rode towards the border to begin the patrol. Winter had come early this year and the air was even colder than she remembered from last year.  _Wait_.  Klark lifted her head, suddenly alert.  _What is that?_ Ontari looked at her, puzzled at the sudden movement, but then saw her expression. Not needing words, she wrinkled her eyebrows together in a silent question.  _What is it?_ Klark tilted her head back to sniff the air, eyes widening.  _Smoke_.  Ontari had done the same and they exchanged a wide-eyed look. "Gonas!" Klark yelled, not caring that she had startled them. "Something is wrong. Go!" Klark and Ontari immedietly spurred their horses into a fierce gallop in the direction of the smoke, the gonas following closely behind. They could smell the smoke as well, now, and Klark only hoped that it was not as bad as what she envisioned. 

Moments later, a great pillar of dark smoke became visable through the trees and Klark gasped audiably, pushing her horse even harder. Arriving at the crest of a hill, Klark stopped her horse. Her eyes widened in shock at what she saw -or what she didn't. 

_ Oh- Oh my god. _

The village was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long to post, but it was so much writing and I kept getting distracted by random ideas for future chapters. And by the US election because aren’t we all? 
> 
> I know some of you are looking forward to meeting Atlas (her wolf), and that might (will) be next chapter! Anyways let me know what you think. I love getting comments from you guys.
> 
> P.s. You may have noticed that Pahn sounds a bit like the word Pan but with an English accent. That’s because I was holding a Pan when the idea struck me. Clever, right? Inspiration really does strike at the strangest times (haha)
> 
> Thanks for reading, and please leave kudos/comments!!


	9. Chapter 9

One year and ten months ago: November 2150

** Klark **

Moments later, a great pillar of dark smoke became visible through the trees and Klark gasped audiably, pushing her horse even harder. Arriving at the crest of a hill, Klark stopped her horse. Her eyes widened in shock at what she saw -or what she didn't. 

_Oh- Oh my god._

The village was gone.

* * *

What was once one of the larger villages of Azgeda was now reduced to charred rubble. Flames still lit some of the buildings, but most had already burned to the ground. Even worse, she saw no signs of movement. Ontari signaled their patrol forward and they descended the small incline into the village, getting a close up view of the destruction. It was even worse than she had imagined. Immediately after she made it to where the entrance had once been, Klark leapt off her horse and ran into the village with the rest of their patrol, searching desperately for a sign of life. Through the stifling smoke, she could see bodies piled everywhere. Men, women,  _children_ ,  all dead. “Search for survivors,” Klark ordered, her voice sounding strange to her own ears, more hollow than it had ever been. There was no sign of life anywhere in the village, and the sound of her gonas shouting for survivors was the sole distraction from the horrifying scene around her.

Klark searched along with them, stopping to crouch beside several children with their throats slit. Her chest tightned. To kill children was unforgivable. Whoever had committed this atrocity against the innocent villagers would pay with their lives. “General!” Klark stood and looked toward the source of the call. “He’s alive!”  _A survivor_.  Klark ran towards the gona who had called to her, seeing Ontari do the same from her position at the other side of the village. She saw the gona standing over a man lying on the ground, not moving. Just one look told her that he would not live through the day, despite her medical skills. Klark could see a wooden spear going through his stomach and he was incredibly pale from the blood loss, barely breathing past the blood dripping from his mouth.  _Internal damage. He won’t live long._ But at least he was alive right now, and that was what mattered.

Stopping beside her gona, she crouched beside the dying man and pushed her anger aside for a moment, needing to focus on getting information. "What happened here?" she asked quietly. He didn't open his eyes, but opened his mouth to speak in a stuttering whisper. “The-“ he cut off, choking on blood. “The Rai...ders came. They killed everyone.”  _Raiders... Is that what they call the Banished?_ The man coughed, groaning in pain. Klark took his hand to give him some support, not caring that it may be seen as a weakness. “When did they attack?” His eyes fluttered as he fought the darkness that was doubtlessly pulling at him. “Not...long ago. Less than an hour. There was around...twenty people.” Klark looked up and glanced at Ontari.  _They’re still close. We could find them._ "They just killed...  _everyone_.  My wife... my daughter...  _our baby_..."  The man shook as silent tears flowed from the corners of his eyes, and Klark continued to hold his trembling hand. As one final breath slipped past his lips, he quietly whispered, “Ai gomplei ste odon,” and fell limp, entering the void of death.

She looked down at the man grimly and gently placed his hand on the ground. Klark stood up slowly, face blank as she beheld the needless death and destruction around her.  _This will not stand. My people deserve better than this. They deserve to be safe._ An anger deeper than she had ever felt before rose up in her chest. An entire village had been murdered and she could do nothing. The ... _Raiders_ had attacked for what appeared to be no reason at all, and had murdered over a hundred innocent people in cold blood. The revenge that the Raider woman had spoke of all those months ago seemed to have come into being.

Ontari had left her side and was ordering the gonas to build a pyre for the dead, but Klark still stood in the same place, the stench of death and fire burning her nose as she took a deep breath. They had to pay respecct to the dead, but-  _wait_. Klark's eyes flashed as she looked up suddenly. There  _was_ sommething that she could do. The Raiders were still nearby and there was only twenty of them. She could easily overpower an amount that small. Especially when she was this angry. Klark looked towards one of the entrances, accidentally meeting Ontari's eyes, which narrowed immedietly. Something was obviously clear in her expression because Ontari took a step towards her and started to shake her head, but Klark turned towards the main entrance of the village and burst into a sprint, ignoring Ontari’s shout for her return. Or pssibly for her to wait. Klark wasn't sure and she didn't care. The Raiders would pay for this atrocity, and Klark would deliver their punishment. 

A clear trail of footprints led her through the snow covered forest, and Klark could have laughed at the simplicity of following their tracks. They must have been so sure that nobody would arrive in time to follow them, but that certantity had been a grave mistake on their part. Judging by the tracks, they were  _walking_ away from the destroyed village, not even bothering to leave Azgeda quickly. It was laughable, honestly, and Klark might have laughed had she not been busy with her task. Though the Raiders had a head start, they were walking and she was sprinting faster than she ever had before. Klark would catch up in no time at all. As she ran, instead of thinking, Klark let go of all thoughts and emotions, not feeling anything but adrenaline and the pounding of her feet against the packed snow. Her anger would return when it was needed, soon as that may be.

Klark did not know how much time passed as she ran, but it certainly didn't feel like long enough when she finally heard the voices. To hide her presence, she slowed her pace and got off the path that she had been following, moving through the forest where the snow was much deeper instead. Some of the freezing snow slid into her boots, but she ignored the unpleasant sensation and focused on getting closer to the voices. They must be walking incredibly slowly because it sounded like they weren't even moving. She crept through the woods, hardly making a sound despite the snow. Finally seeing movment, Klark moved to crouch behind a log. She lifted her head slightly and took in the view incredulously, hardly believing what she saw. They had  _stopped_. The idiodic Raiders had actually stopped walking.  Did they really think that nobody would find the remnants of the village and follow them in seek of revenge?

As the man had said before he died, there was only about twenty of them and they were all sitting around a fire in a small clearing, talking far too loudly for people who had just massacred over a hundred people after breaking the only rule that still applied to them. They had reentered the coalition in spite of the death order that hung over them, and from what she could see, they had no regrets. Klark glared down at the Raiders and drew her twin daggers, easily feeding her anger until it burned brighter than the sun. She simply remembered the death and devastation that she had seen in the village and her focus sharpened on her targets. They had one man standing watch by the edge of the clearing, a feeble attempt at protection that would be dispatched easily. And he was so close to her, too.

Klark darted from her hiding spot and stabbed him in the neck, lowering his body to the ground silently. The oblivious group around the fire not noticing a thing. She could certainly kill them all within seconds as they were both unarmed and unaware. But that would be merciful, and they did not deserve that. No, Klark would wait for them to notice her, then attack. They would die either way, but this would give her the revenge she desired. It took so long, so to encourage them to notice her, Klark threw her dagger with perfect accuracy into the neck of a woman sitting directly beside the fire. 

The Raiders all leaped up, various screams filling the air. Klark tilted her head slightly and twisted her face into a bone-chilling smile. " _Hello_."  She waved at them without moving her hand, simply lowering and raising her fingers one by one. They grabbed for their weapons, and Klark pulled her swords from their scabbard on her back. "You  _really_ shouldn't have killed those villagers. But now that you have...  _Jus drein jus daun_."  A man ran at her and sliced his sword through the air, aiming for her head. She easily leaned back and dodged it easily, stabbing her swords through his stomach. The other Raiders weren't far behind and they started to run at her. Klark spun her swords around as she sprinted at them, shouting a war cry. She spun through the air, her swords flying around her as Klark became a whirlwind of death, killing over seven of the Raiders in mere seconds. It was as if they were moving in slow motion while she moved with ease, her swords slicing through them without pause.

It was clear that most of them were not the fully trained gona that fought in their clan's army. Klark didn't know why they would attack Azgeda like this but frankly, she didn't care why they had done it anymore. She was simply focused on how to stop them, starting with this group of murderers. Killing her attackers was a frighteningly easy task, and there was soon only one man left. He had run away instead of attacking her, which would have been a good plan had he not stopped to watch, likley hoping that his fellow Raiders would kill her. Once Klark had vanquished her attackers and set her sights on him, his eyes widened. The young man started to back away slowly into the woods as she stalked towards him, bumping into several trees on the way. 

Once Klark was in the center of the clearing, he ran forward, having gained a sudden burst of misplaced courage, and threw his knife straight at her head. An excellent shot, she noted as it flew towards her, but not good enough. Klark snatched the knife out of the air when it was mere inches from her face and flung it back at him. He dropped to the ground gracelessly with his own knife in his throat. They were all dead, and Klark felt a deep satisfaction for the depts paid to her people, a far cry from a year ago when she had been destroyed by the deaths at Mount Weather. She was no longer weak.

She turned back towards the direction of the village just as Ontari burst through the trees, ready to fight. Ontari stopped suddenly as she saw Klark standing alone, drenched in the blood of the Raiders whose motionless bodies surrounded her. She stepped back slightly in suprise, certainly not expecting the scene that she had walked into with a whispered, "Woah." She quickly regained her normal demeanor and walked towards Klark, looking around at the bodies around her. "How the fuck did you get here so fast? I left right after you did!" Klark laughed quietly and walked towards her, glad that she wasn't disgusted by her actions.  _Disgusted? Ontari? By killing? Ha. She is probably jealous that she didn't get to help out. Surely she wanted revenge just as bad as I did._ "You really couldn't save any of them for me? I ran all the way here, too."  Of course. "Sorry." Ontari looked at her as they headed back into the forest, leaving the bloody clearing behind. "No you're not," she replied, rolling her eyes. "You definatly wanted to do that." Klark just shrugged, for she most certainly wasn't wrong .

They had returned to the path that the Raiders had created in the snow and were walking back when Klark noticed a disturbance in the snow a few paces into the woods. She stopped walking to peer over, getting a strange look from Ontari. Klark ignored her and stepped off the path, moving a few feet closer. It was a large grey wolf, but it-  _she_ was dead. The raiders had obviously killed her. "Well?" Ontari asked, "What is it?" Klark turned away and shrugged. "A dead wolf. Let's go, its starting to snow and I don't want to get caught in it.” And it was. A blizzard was coming, and they would have to hurry. Ontari nodded in agreement. “We should run back.” They set off at a fast pace, needing to return to their gonas so they could get back to Anolia before the blizzard hit. 

They hadn’t been running long before Klark heard a strange noise coming from the mountain to her left. She dismissed it and continued to run, but she heard it again. “Ontari, wait.” She looked back at Klark who had stopped and was looking into the forest. “Ugh, what? We have to get back quickly.” Klark nodded, distracted by the sound. “I know, but do you hear that?” She looked confused. “What, the wolf pup? It's probably hungry. Remember, you just found its mother.”  _Wolf pup?!_ Klark turned to look at Ontari who started to shake her head immediately. “No. No no no, Klark we are not going after a  wolf.  We have to get back before the snow gets worse.” Klark was determined to at least make sure that the pup could take care of itself. “You can go back without me. I'll follow you in a few minutes after I make sure that it's okay.” Ontari looked torn as she glanced at the path towards the village, dragging her hand across her face. “Ugh!” she exclaimed in annoyance, “ _fine_ let's go you fucking idiot. You have five minutes and then we leave, got it?” Klark waved her off and jumped into the forest, running towards the sound with an extremely annoyed Ontari behind her.

The sound was coming from a mountain that rose high above them, and Klark ran through the snow quickly as the snow above them increased its intensity. The once soft breeze was slowly shifting into something much more powerful as she arrived at the base of the mountain, looking up in search of the wolf pups location. Klark squinted through the snow falling around them seeing what seemed to be a cave cut up high in the mountain. “Klark it’s not worth it. We need to go back.” Ignoring her, Klark started to climb up the snowy incline towards the cave. She was mostly just walking over an icy expanse of rock, hunched against the biting wind that blew over the exposed base of the mountain. It was freezing but they were almost there. 

A few minutes later, Klark pulled herself onto a ledge that was only a few feet from the cave entrance, a very annoyed Ontari following close behind. The wolf had quieted, having realized that they weren’t it’s mother, and Klak decided not to go in immedietly and instead looked around to check for dangers. She didn't know how big the wolf pup was or if it was dangerous so Klark slowly moved forward until she could see into the cave. Strangely, Klark could see light in the other side of the cave, but that didn’t make any sense...  _oh!_ She had been wrong. It wasn't a cave, but a tunnel.  _For trains, probably._ That was interesting. The train tracks were obviously destroyed when the bombs fell, but the parts inside the mountain had apparently survived.  _Klark, shut up about the trains. Focus._ She switched her thoughts back into a careful analysis, and though there were mounds of snow hanging precariously above the entrance, Klark stepped forward to peer inside even farther. The tunnel was empty save for some metal train tracks with grass mostly covering them. She looked around for the wolf pup, and though it was well hidden, Klark easily located a tiny shivering body in the empty tunnel.  _Poor thing. It’s cold. And tiny. There is no way it can survive alone here._ Now with a mission, she turned back to the entrance and stepped towards Ontari, her lips parting to voice her decision to take the wolf pup back with them.

Before she could speak, a sudden gust of wind whipped through the mountains, pushing her over slightly. Klark stumbled slightly but refocused on Ontari, only to pause again as she felt snow dripping in her hair. She looked up, confused as to why the snow was melting in the middle of winter, but quickly realized that it wasn't melting; it was falling. Something started to rumble on the mountain above them, and the snow directly above Klark started to fall at a faster rate. She slowly looked down and met Ontari's eyes as the snow fell faster and faster. Ontari looked up at the mountain, her eyes widening at the sight of some unknown object. Before Klark could even register it, Ontari was leaping at her through the falling snow, knocking her to the ground several paces farther from the entrance as the tunnel shook from an impact of...  _something_.

Klark groaned quietly at the impact and tried to move, but couldn’t. There was a heavy weight above her that was keeping her on the ground. She opened her eyes, blinking out the snow that had fallen on her face, and quickly realized that it was Ontari. Laying directly on top of her. Ontari quickly pushed herself up, hands braced on either side of Klark’s head as they stared at each other. Breaking the silence, Ontari started yelling: “YOU IDIOT! Why would you go in there? The snow was obviously unstable.” Still beneath her, Klark slowly moved her head to look around Ontari at the entrance. Or, what used to be the entrance. Where Klark had been standing only seconds ago was now completely blocked off by snow and rock, forming a solid wall that would have crushed her had Ontari not knocked her out of the path of the falling snow. That was another matter entirely. “Did you just jump through an avalanche to save me?” Klark asked incredulously. “No!” Klark grinned up at her as Ontari’s face turned red. “You did! You would have been fine where you were, but you chose to save me instead.” Ontari pushed herself into a standing position and turned away. “Fuck!” Klark sat up from her splayed position on the ground and turned to look at Ontari, who was sliding down the wall of the tunnel. “Why the hell did I do that?!” Klark shrugged, deciding not to comment that it was probably because Ontari somewhat cared about her.

Ontari angrily leaned her head against the wall, not upset with Klark but with herself, probably. “This is why feelings are weakness.” Klark sighed.  _This shit again. What is it with grounders and hating feelings?_ “Why are they a weakness, Ontari? Having emotions can make you stronger.” Ontari glared at her, though her heart obviously wasn’t really in it. “I literally risked my life to save you. That’s a huge weakness. Do you have any idea how hard I work to stay distanced from everyone so that something like that doesn’t happen?” Remembering the whole reason she had gone into the cave, Klark stood from her spot on the ground and walked over to where she had seen the wold pup, while still talking to Ontari. “Do you think you’re weak?” Ontari scoffed. “Have you seen me fight? Of course not, but feelings create a weakness if you care about someone else.” Klark smiled at that, but didn’t turn back to face her. It was good that she was starting to feel something. “You don’t have to stay distanced from  everyone , Ontari. Having people who you trust makes you even stronger because you can all rely on each other.” When Ontari didn’t reply, Klark crouched on the other side of the tracks where the pup was cowering in a nest of twigs.

It was completely white besides the black inside of its ears, and it would blend in perfectly with the constant snow of Azgeda. The wolf pup looked at her fearfully and whimpered, not big enough to growl yet. The pup was small enough that Klark could hold it in her hands, but she knew that it would doubtlessly grow into a large wolf like its mother. The pup was shivering so Klark just reached over and picked it up out of the nest, quickly checking for the gender before holding it closely to her chest.  A boy.  He wriggled furiously in her arms, trying to escape, but she didn’t let go and instead tucked the pup into her fur coat to keep it warm. 

Klark held the wriggling pup to her chest and sat down near Ontari, who finally responded. “Didn’t the Commander betray you after you decided to trust  her ?”  _Wow. Way to bring up old wounds._ “Yeah, she did.” Klark sighed. “But sometimes you have to take a risk in order to actually trust someone. I got the Skaikru out of the Mountain even after she abandoned us because our alliance led to a greater understanding of the enemy. Her betrayal was unexpected for  _several_ reasons, but trusting her led to my eventual benefit, even if I would never trust her again.” The pup had finally stilled, and she could feel his tiny breaths on her chest. Completely ignoring the point of her little speech, Ontari asked, “Why did you say ‘ _several_ ’ like that?” Klark hadn’t meant to say it like she was hiding something important, but... she was. And there was certainly a reason for it. “Trust works both ways, Ontari. I can’t trust you until you trust me, and that information can’t reach Queen Nia.” That had certainly peaked her curiosity, because Ontari was now staring directly at her, having turned to face Klark’s direction. “No, I’m not going to tell you. Like I said, trust works both ways.”

“Whatever. We need to get back to our gonas, so let’s go check the other end of the tunnel.” Klark stood up, holding the pup carefully in her coat. “Fine, but I’m taking Atlas back to Anolia with us.” They had started walking down the train tracks towards the distant light when Ontari asked, “Atlas?” Klark nodded. “It’s from Greek mythology. He’s a Titan who was responsible for holding up the heavens for eternity.” Ontari looked incredibly confused and Klark laughed at her expression, the sound echoing through the tunnel. “Just go with it. His name is Atlas.” Ontari shrugged. “Whatever. May as well keep the reason we got stuck here, right?”

The tunnel was much longer than she had expected and they walked for over five minutes before nearing the end. When the it finally came into view, they both stopped suddenly. “Fuck.” The blizzard was in full swing, snow flying around the mountains at incredible rates. It was impossible to see anything through thick snow. Klark sighed. They weren’t going anywhere. “It looks like we are staying here tonight. I just hope the gonas left before the snow got this bad.” Ontari pressed her lips together tightly. “We should go back to the other side, it’s warmer without the wind.” She paused , then added. “And the gonas should be okay; I told them to leave without us if the storm came any closer.” That was good. Klark didn’t want their blood on her hands.

They walked all the way back to the other side where it was significantly warmer without the freezing wind. Warm enough for her to take off her fur coat, in fact. Before Ontari could sit down, Klark pulled Atlas out of her coat and shoved the pup into her arms. Her eyes widened and Ontari barely held on to him as he squirmed mightily. It was adorable, and Klark tried very hard not to let out the snicker she was fighting back. It didn’t work, and Ontari glared over at her. “Hurry the fuck up. Your stupid wolf puppy is trying to kill itself by jumping out of my arms, and I’m going to let it.” Klark gasped in mock horror as she pulled off her coat. “You wouldn’t!” Ontari gave her a look that clearly said  _try me_ ,  but Klark ignored it and sat down in the grass against the wall of the tunnel, taking Atlas out of Ontari’s arms as she slid down next to her. They sat in silence as Klark watched Atlas sleep in the coat that was laid over her lap. Ontari was clearly thinking about something, so Klark didn’t disrupt her and focused on the wolf pup who had made himself very comfortable on her lap. Atlas was curled into a small white ball of the softest fur, and she stroked him gently, glad that he was finally getting comfortable around her.

Ontari broke the silence a while later. “You know what we were talking about earlier?” Klark turned to look at her. “You wanting to kill Atlas?” Ontari glared at her. “Ugh! You know what I’m talking about.” She did. Klark knew exactly what she was talking about. “Emotions being a strength.” Ontari nodded. “I- oh my god this is so embarrassing.“ She rolled onto her back in the fetal position, like a turtle Klark has seen once in a video on the Ark, and covered her eyes in a brief moment of weakness. “I do trust you, Klark.”  _Well that certainly brings back unwanted memories. The exact same thing, too_ _._ “I know how hard that is for you.” Ontari looked at her through her fingers, realizing that Klark wasn’t going to judge her on this. She put her hands down “I won’t betray you to Queen Nia, you know that. Your life matters to me, at least kind of. Roan’s too.” Klark did know that. Ontari wouldn’t risk her own life to save her just to tell Nia information that would result in Klark’s death.

She turned her head to face Klark, still laying on the ground with her black hair splayed around her head. “Now tell me the big secret that you’re hiding from the Queen.” Klark hadn’t expected her to acknowledge having feelings for  _that_ reason. “Did you really just admit you care about Roan and I just because you wanted to know my secrets?” Ontari sat up, a slight smirk lighting her face. “Yes. Now you have to tell me.”  _Oh well. At least she won’t betray me._ “You care about my life, right?” Klark asked, just needing to verify it. Ontari looked at her, annoyed. “Were you not listening? I said I did. I won’t betray you and you won’t betray me.” She smirked. “Did you want to exchange a blood oath or something?” Klark rolled her eyes. “Well good, because if Nia learns this, she will kill me. Do you want the long or short version?” Ontari perked up at that. “The long version. We’re going to be here for a while.” Klark moved into a more comfortable position with her legs extended out on front of her, still holding a sleeping Atlas in her lap. “While it’s only a small fact that needs to be kept a secret, it will make more sense if you know the background. So, this is the story of how Skaikru came to the ground.”

* * *

Much time passed as she recounted her experiences on the ground, and by the end of her tale, Ontari was gaping at her in astonishment. Klark had told her everything from the dropship to her kidnapping, only stopping to answer a few questions about the Ark. “Wait, wait, wait. That’s a lot to unpack, but I’m focused on one important thing.” Klark already knew exactly what she was going to say. “You got the commander to fall for you in less than three weeks?!” Klark didn’t know about ‘falling’ but Lexa  _had_ kissed her so she nodded ruefully, lips pressed tightly together in amusement at Ontari’s shocked expression. “What the  _hell_ , bitch?!” She couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore; the novelty of the situation was far too amusing. Continuing, Ontari asked, “so Queen Nia can’t know that you were close to Heda because she would use you to hurt her.” Klark nodded. “Yes, but probably worse than that. You know what she is capable of. Nia would torture and eventually kill me to try and hurt the Commander, even though it’s been over a year since our last encounter and she has certainly forgotten about me. And everyone thinks I’m dead.” It was annoying, but the truth. Nia would do anything to usurp Lexa, and certainly wouldn’t care that Klark would pay the price for it. The Queen could still take her _‘_ _power_ _’_ by killing Klark instead of wielding it through her.

Her fur coat moved, interrupting her train of thought, and Klark lifted the sleeve off of the pup’s head. Atlas had awoken from his slumber and looked around blearily in a very adorable manner. He was finally warm now, so Klark picked him up and held the wolf pup in her arms, kissing his soft head once. Ontari snickered from beside her. “That is fucking hilarious. Klark, the mighty Azgeda General still covered in the blood of her enemies, is cuddling a puppy.” She huffed a laugh, rolling her eyes. “Shut up.” Instead of staying quiet, Ontari crossed her arms and gave the most predictable response. “Make me.” Klark shot her a look that clearly said  really, now?  and instead of rising to the challenge like usual, she pointed at Atlas as an excuse. “I can fight you later. Do you have any food?” Ontari shook her head and she sighed, relaxing against the tunnel walls. 

She noticed that the tunnel was darkening. It was getting late, and it was much colder than it had been a few hours ago. Klark was getting hungry too, but they had no food. It was no problem, really. She had gone without food for much longer than a day before, but the temperature would be an issue and unfortunately there wasn’t any wood in the tunnel for a fire, so they would just have to deal with it. Her main concern was Atlas, for she didn’t know when he had eaten last, or even if he was big enough to be eating solid foods. He would have to be, or else the wolf pup would be dead within days. When the tunnel was fully dark for a while and Klark was getting tired, Ontari spoke. “I’ll take the first watch.” Klark turned to look at her tiredly. “Do we really need one? Nothing is getting through that blizzard.” Ontari shrugged, her shadow brushing back a strand of dark hair. “I suppose not.” She laid down against the wall and Klark did the same a few feet away, the small white wolf cradled comfortably in her arms once more. 

The floor of the tunnel was uncomfortable, despite the grass that lined where she was laying down, and she did not fall asleep quickly. Her thoughts shifted to her goal of challenging the High General. Though High General Pahn had not been a large presence in her life since she had been forced to go on all of his missions, he still did his best to be rude to her whenever they encountered each other. He was clearly not the right person for the position. But challenging him was not her main problem. Klark wasn't naïve, she knew that Ontari was more accomplished than she was, and much more deserving of the title. She was certainly the superior warrior, at least for now. Klark looked in the direction of Ontari’s motionless form. It was too soon for her to be asleep so she broke the silence with a question, going straight to the point. “Ontari, would you care if I challenged the high general?” The shadow of Ontari sat up and looked in her direction. “You want to challenge High General Pahn?” She didn’t sound angry, at least. Just surprised.

Klark shrugged, or at least tried, from her position on the ground. “Well, I mostly just want to kill him, but I would be able to protect the people far better than he has done. You saw the village today. If he stays the High General then those attacks will keep happening.” Klark could tell that Ontari already knew that fact. “I know that. He certainly doesn’t have the best interest of Azgeda in mind when he makes decisions.” She sighed. “You should do it.”  _What?_ Klark had been so sure that she wanted to be the High General. “Really? I thought that you wanted to be the High General. You’re obviously more qualified than I am.” She could faintly see Ontari drag a hand across her face. “Of course I want more power, but I know you would protect the people even better than I could. And no, I’m not being humble. Your emotions drive you to protect the people of Azgeda. I saw you at the village today. They attacked innocents and the Banis- the  _Raiders_ obviously paid for their actions, just like they will in the future.” She paused, then added, “Plus, I’ll always know that I am able to kick the high generals ass in a fight.” Klark snorted at that. “For now! I’ll get you eventually.” Ontari laid back down. “You haven’t beaten me yet,  _Wanheda_ ,  and we fight all the time.” Klark bristled at that.  _Oh she really went and used the title on me_. It wasn’t like she could refute her statement, though. It was, embarrassingly, true.

* * *

The next day 

Klark jerked awake to a sudden sound and quickly scanned for dangers, but soon realized that it was just some ice that had come loose from the pile blocking the entrance. When that matter was settled, she looked down and immediately noticed that Atlas wasn’t in her arms. Klark looked around frantically for the white pup, only to see him trotting happily behind Ontari, who was walking down the tunnel towards her. “Good, you’re awake. The blizzard is clearing, so we will be able to leave in a few hours. We-” She paused, noticing Klark’s source of attention. “Yeah, he has been following me around all morning.” She didn’t seem to mind it very much, which Klark found quite amusing. Ontari had wanted to leave him to die yesterday and now she was already becoming attached. Atlas  _was_ incredibly adorable though, so Klark really couldn’t blame Ontari for her inability to hate him.

As Ontari sat down, Klark recalled an idea she’d had just before falling asleep last night. Queen Nia obviously wouldn’t allow her to keep a pet. In fact, she would probably just kill Atlas immediately if she heard that Klark had brought him home, just to be cruel or to ‘ _prevent weakness’_. So, Klark would propose to train the wolf to be a part of the Azgeda army. If Nia knew that he was there as a test to see if wolves could be used in the army, then she would be far more likely to accept his presence. And if Atlas proved her idea to be successful, which he  _would_ , then Klark would have her own trained wolf fighting beside her. She hadn’t seen any people with pets anywhere on the ground, so her idea of training wolves would probably be new and intriguing to Nia. And, how impressive would it be for Klark to have a  _wolf_ following her command?  _Very_.  Nia would be unable to resist the idea, as Klark -  _Wanheda_ \-  being stronger made the Queen stronger. It was a win-win solution. Klark would train Atlas to fight, keeping him alive, and Nia would gain more power with the other clans when Klark was eventually revealed to be Wanheda. She didn’t know when that would be, though. 

Moments after sitting down, Ontari disrupted her thoughts. “Have you mastered the Dragon Dance yet?” Klark shook her head. She was so close, but when she had tried it with Roan they had gotten out of sync. Klark was often away from Anolia on missions so she didn’t have much time to practice with anyone else. “I know all the movements, just haven’t been able to do it with anyone else yet.” Ontari nodded, leaving it at that, and turned to the right to grab her-  _sword?_ from their pile of discarded weapons. Klark looked at Ontari confusedly as she stood right back up, sword in hand. “Get up and grab your sword.”  _What?_ Deciding to follow the very authoritative directions, Klark leaned to the side and reached for her sword, standing up to face Ontari.  _Oh, that’s why._ “You want to do it  _here_ ?” Ontari just shrugged, twirling her sword. “It’s not like we have anything better to do. Might as well do this.” She had a point, and Klark _did_ need the practice.

Seeing that Atlas was safely curled up in the grass, Klark raised her sword into the starting position, mirroring Ontari’s movement. They regarded each other over the tips of their swords, lunging to the right while twisting through the air to land worth their swords pointed at each other. Without pause, they immediately moved into an intricate maneuver, swords flashing as they spun together. Klark jumped back two steps, Ontari following her movement in the opposite direction as they quite literally danced around each other, swords remaining in constant motion without ever colliding. They continued the dance, the movements becoming increasingly difficult. Ontari was very good - excellent, really - but Klark was keeping up. Mostly. Ontari was clearly not going her full speed, but at least Klark was finally able to do it with someone else without making a mistake. 

Ontari stepped back quickly, ending the sequence after several minutes. “Not bad. It could obviously be better, but at least you didn’t mess up.” Not leaving time for her to respond, Ontari raised her sword once more. “Again, but faster this time.” Klark sighed. While she was already slightly out of breath, Ontari was completely un phased by the continuous exercise. It was obviously easy for her at this speed. Moving back into their old banter, Ontari smirked at her challengingly. “ _Can’t do it?_ ” She asked mockingly. Klark scowled and raised her sword once more, now even more determined to keep up. “You wish.” Even though they would probably continue the exercise until the blizzard cleared, Klark lunged to the right slightly faster than she had before.

* * *

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but at the end of their current sequence, Klark simply flopped to the ground, utterly defeated. Ontari had increased the speed of the dance until Klark was barely managing to keep up, and her body ached all over. Ontari snickered but Klark ignored her, relaxing into the uncomfortable floor of the tunnel. She laid there silently as her energy slowly returned, faintly hearing Ontari’s footsteps move in the direction of the exit. 

Only a minute later, something wet brushed her cheek and Klark’s eyes flashed open in surprise, only to see Atlas looking down at her curiously. She smiled at him and sat up, quickly putting all her weapons back on now that she felt less tired. Hoping that the blizzard had slowed down enough that they could return to Anolia today, Klark scooped the small wolf into her arms and set off down the tunnel after Ontari. It was better to be prepared, because Klark did not want to walk all the way back just to get her weapons if the blizzard had truly cleared. 

Ontari was standing at the end when she arrived, but Klark looked out the entrance before saying anything. It was still snowing, but not nearly as hard as yesterday. They could make it back to Anolia today. It was only be a half days walk. She looked at Ontari who nodded, reading her expression.  _It’s strange how she can do that_ _._ “Let’s go now. Do you have everything?” After tucking Atlas into her coat, it was Klark’s turn to nod. They stepped out of the tunnel and carefully trudged down the slippery hill. Luckily, this side of the tunnel was much closer to the ground so they didn’t have to climb anything like yesterday. 

The snow was far deeper than it had been before, so they had to travel between the bases of the trees where it was shallower. The frigid air burned her cheeks as they hiked through Azgeda, following Ontari who was leading her back based on her knowledge of the lands. They walked for hours through the freezing snow, and it was truly an awful experience. The village had been empty when they had walked past it, which meant that their gonas were safe, but it also meant that there were no horses. It was unfortunate, but they had to walk all the way back. The grueling journey through the snowy mountains was long and tiring, especially since Klark had already been tired before they had left.  _Doing the Dragon Dance right before hiking for hours was not the best idea._

As the hours passed slowly, Klark and Ontari only exchanged a few snatches of conversation during the long journey. The time was mostly passed in silence, but strangely, no thoughts passed through her mind. Klark scratched at some of the dried blood on her coat mindlessly, pieces of it flaking off into the snow beneath her. Her clothes were still covered in the blood of the Raiders, and she certainly looked the part of the fearsome General that she was becoming. She wasn’t even disgusted by blood anymore, which was good considering she was in the army of Azgeda, but she had come a long way from the innocent Skaikru girl she’d once been. 

Just as dusk was setting in, Anolia appeared in the valley below them. Klark could have shouted with joy, but settled for a relieved sigh. She was exhausted. Disrupting the silence of the forest, a bell rang by the gate and over thirty gonas appeared on the battlements, bows loaded and ready to shoot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters have gotten so long! Let me know if I should split it up to make it easier to read, because I think my paragraphs are a bittt long. Next chapter will be the last of the flashbacks, then we will be moving back to present time!
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave comments (I love comments) and kudos if you liked it.


	10. Chapter 10

One year and ten months ago: November 2150

**Klark**

Disrupting the silence of the forest, a bell rang by the gate and over thirty gonas appeared on the battlements, bows loaded and ready to shoot.

* * *

As they neared the wall, a voice shouted, “State your name and business!” Klark supposed that they were quite unrecognizable in the state they were in, so she opened her mouth to follow his direction but was interrupted by Ontari, who drawled. “Who do you  _think_ it is,  _Malcum_ _?_ I hope you really didn’t think that a mere blizzard could kill us.” So Ontari knew this gona. And by his voice no less.

A blonde head appeared over the battlements and Klark vaguely recognized the man as one of the gonas who had been in their scouting party. He looked shocked. “General Ontari?!” Ontari crossed her arms. “And General Klark. Now you have five seconds to open the gate before I come and do it myself, if you know what I mean.” Understanding the obvious threat, he immediately disappeared and the gate started to open after a few short seconds. Ontari strode through the opening, her menacing demeanor falling into place as she glared at Malcum. He shrunk back, apologizing profusely for not recognizing them, and scampered away, leaving Ontari looking vaguely disgusted by his lack of courage. Apparently deciding that it wasn’t worth chasing him down, Ontari set off towards the castle. Klark took a few quick steps forward to catch up to her, and they made their way up the busy street together. 

People quickly took notice of their presence and started cheering, drawing much unwanted attention towards Klark, who still looked like she had just bathed in blood. She could hear whispers of speculation about where they had been and what they had been doing, most seeming to favor the idea that they had some thrilling tale of survival. They didn’t. In fact, Klark had gotten them into that situation by wanting to save a wolf pup, and while noble, that was no harrowing feat and it would unquestionably be seen as quite stupid. She  _did_ get justice for the villagers’ deaths upon the Raiders though, so perhaps that could be discussed in lieu of the whole cave situation...

As they left the busy town behind them, the crowds faded away and soon Klark and Ontari were alone once more as they walked into the castle, the guards bowing their heads at their presence. A familiar voice broke the silence of the hallway almost immediately. “Klark! Ontari!” Roan appeared out of one of the sitting rooms by the main entrance as if he had been waiting for them. “What happened out there?” Klark gave him a quick hug before responding. “It’s a long story, so I’ll tell you everything after we report to the Queen. Meet in my chambers?” He nodded in agreement. “I’m glad you two are safe. Good luck with my mother, she’s been in a bad mood since the two of you went missing.” _Nia must have thought that I ran back to Skaikru_ _._

It would be a reasonable concern if Klark had any desire to return to her former people, but she didn’t. She had thought that the Queen could tell by now, since Klark could have done so quite easily with her freedom as a General. Plus, it wasn’t like Nia would be a large threat to the Skaikru. Klark would have simply had to convince the Commander to protect them. The thought of having to talk to Lexa disgusted her, but if she’d had any desire to return and protect the Skaikru, she could have done it. But she didn’t, so Nia really had nothing to worry about there. Pushing away her thoughts, Klark smiled slightly at Roan, then followed Ontari down the hallway to report back to the Queen.

As they neared the throne room, Atlas started to wiggle in her pocket, poking his small head out of her coat, having just woken up. Ontari paused, looking over at the movement, then up at Klark in surprise. “I forgot you were carrying him. Are you taking the wolf with you when we give the report?” Klark hesitated. The Queen might not like the idea of a wolf in the city, so Klark would have to convince Nia to let her keep him as an asset. As long as Atlas behaved until she brought up the idea, Klark was mostly sure that her plan of training him would convince Nia to allow Atlas’s presence in the castle, so she nodded. “I have an idea. Just don’t mention Atlas in the report until I can convince Queen Nia to let me keep him.” Ontari looked like she was wondering what Klark was going to say to convince Nia, but didn’t comment on it and just nodded and continued walking. 

As they approached the throne room, one of the guards knocked on one of the large double doors and paused before stepping inside. Klark heard a faint - and annoyed - “what is it” then the guards’ voice saying “Generals Klark and Ontari have returned, my Queen. Will you have me-“ Nia interrupted the guard, her voice much louder this time. “Send them in!” She had likely been waiting for them. The guard quickly exited the room and pushed the door open wider, allowing Klark and Ontari to enter. 

Nia wore a pleased expression as they walked down the carpet towards her, obviously glad to see that both Wanheda and her most skilled General had returned. It was clear that the Queen had thought that Klark had tried to return to the Skaikru, but she couldn’t figure out what Nia thought Ontari had been doing. Chasing after a runaway Klark during a blizzard? No matter. They had returned, and that was all that Nia truly cared about.

Klark and Ontari bowed, standing a few paces from the throne. Not bothering with formalities, Nia started speaking immediately. “Generals. Your gonas returned last night without you, with no idea of where you were. Explain.” Ontari looked at Klark and nodded for her to speak. Klark put her hands behind her back. “Of course, my Queen. As you know, our scouting mission did not go as planned. Before we could reach the border, we came across a village that had been destroyed completely, every single villager left dead.” She further explained what they had found in the village and her interaction with the last survivor, then her attack on the Raiders. Nia looked delighted at her recount of the attack, having not expected Klark’s actions. “You killed all of the attackers by yourself?” Klark nodded. “Yes, my Queen.” Nia almost smiled at that, obviously satisfied that Klark was becoming the Azgeda warrior that she wanted her to be. “ _Good_. Continue.” Klark did so. “After that was accomplished, General Ontari and I were returning to the village just as the blizzard hit, and we were forced to spend the night in an old world tunnel before we could return to our gonas. Then, we walked back this morning after the snow had lessened.”

Klark’s hand found her pocket where Atlas was starting to squirm slightly, wanting to be let out. Before she could say anything about him, Nia asked, “what do you know of these invaders?” Klark stroked Atlas with her thumb as she responded, stopping his movements for the moment. “The banished people of the coalition have banded together to form a group that people have started calling the Raiders. I believe that they seek revenge for their banishment, and Azgeda happens to be the closest clan to the northern border, which is likely why they are attacking us. They will not stop destroying villages and killing the people of Azgeda unless we force them to.” Nia leaned back in her throne, unfazed by Klark’s statement. “This can be discussed further with the other Generals. Is that it?” It was time for Klark to ask about Atlas. 

“No, my Queen. During our time in the tunnel I found a young wolf. With your permission, I would like to follow through with my idea to train it for battle.” Nia stared down at her incredulously. “You want to train a  _wolf_ for  _battle_ ?” Apparently that was not something they did in Azgeda. The Queen would clearly need some convincing. “Yes. As you well know, wolves are natural fighters.” She looked at Ontari. “I assume you have dogs here, right?” Ontari shook her head slightly, which surprised Klark. “No?”  _Strange. I’m sure they have them in the southern clans._ She turned back to Nia. “No matter. I have some knowledge from my time as a part of Skaikru. The wolf would be a valuable asset to your army, much stronger than any single gona. Plus, it would be a simple test to gauge the idea. If it is successful, then Azgeda could incorporate wolves into the army, striking fear into the hearts of our enemies. If not, then we simply get rid of it.” 

Nia now looked intrigued. “And you believe that you can train this wolf to attack on command.” Klark nodded with certainty. Nias face reflected indifference, but Klark could tell she was interested in her idea. “Very well. You have one month to prove that your wolf can be trained. I assume you brought it with you?”Holding back am exited grin, she nodded once. “Good. Bring it to me in one month and we will see whether your idea will be allowed to continue. You are dismissed.” Klark bowed curtly and turned to leave the room, Ontari by her side. 

The doors shut behind them, and once they were out of eyesight of the guards, Klark carefully pulled Atlas out of her pocket and looked down at him happily. Ontari rolled her eyes at Klark’s expression and chuckled, “You look like a child that has just been given a piece of candy.” Klark made a face at her, still holding Atlas in her arms but didn’t refute the statement, for it  _was_ slightly true ,  and instead looked down at the pup as they continued to walk to the North tower where their chambers were. She and her wolf were a fitting match, Klark decided. Atlas’s eyes were nearly the mirror of her own, and though he was still a small pup, she could tell that he would grow to be an excellent warrior. 

After mounting the staircase to the generals’ landing, Klark paused outside her door, turning to Ontari. “Do you want to come talk to Roan too? We have to tell him everything that happened.” She hesitated for a second, then shrugged. “Sure, whatever.” Klark smiled slightly and opened the door to her chambers with one hand, holding Atlas in the other. His tiny soft paws brushed against her hand and her heart melted slightly as they stepped through the doorway. 

Roan was sitting on her sofa, and he looked up as they walked in, opening his mouth to say something. Then he noticed Atlas, who was practically glowing against her black clothes, and his mouth dropped open widely. “Is that a _wolf!?_ ” He immediately pointed at the chairs next to him. “Tell me everything.” Ontari snorted in a very undignified manner at his directness and followed Klark over to the chairs, where they began to tell him of the events of their mission. It was a long story, and Roan’s eyes soon grew wide as more and more events were added. 

Sometime later, Ontari concluded the story as Klark was getting some water from the pitcher on her table. She quickly walked back to them, and instead of sitting in her own chair she jumped over the arm of Ontari’s, landing partially on top of her. “What the fuck, Klark!” Shifting slightly so she was mostly sitting next to her, Klark slung her arm around Ontari’s shoulder and pulled her closer, ignoring her sound of protest. “While the mission was a disaster, I finally got Ontari to acknowledge that not all emotions are weakness!” Ontari scowled at her as Roan looked on in delight. “Expose me, why don’t you?” Klark smirked at Roan conspiratorially. “Don’t worry, she’s still a badass bitch so you don’t need to question her strength.” Klark and Roan cackled as Ontari pushed her arm away and took Klark’s old seat, doing her best to scowl at them. 

Once their laughter died down, Roan turned to Klark once more. “You should wait another half moon cycle until you challenge the High General. It will give you more time to prepare.” Two weeks wasn’t too long, so she agreed. The extra time would be useful for additional training. 

* * *

Two weeks later: Mid November 2150

Klark was splayed out on the ground of the training ring, pinned to the dirt by Ontari, who was currently perched on top of her. She had some sort of special technique that Klark still couldn’t breakout from, which irritated her relentlessly. Klark could escape if Roan had her pinned when they were training, but Ontari literally just sat on her, or thats what it seemed like, and she _still_ couldn’t get up. It was incredibly annoying. 

Klark scowled as Ontari grinned down at her victoriously and stood up, holding out an arm to help her up. “Don’t look so disappointed. You’ve improved a lot.” Roan stepped forward from where he had been watching by the edge of the ring and clapped her on the shoulder. “She’s right. I know you will defeat Pahn in the challenge today.” Klark hoped that he was right. She didn’t really want to die, and especially not by  _his_ hand. Klark pushed away the thought of her possible death. She had been training hard since she’d been brought to Azgeda, and Klark was now one of the strongest warriors in the clan. She could do it. 

The two weeks of preparation had gone by in a blur of training with Roan and Ontari, and additional training with Atlas when they were done. Nia had allowed her to stay in Anolia for a full month in order to prove that she could train him, which had also let her train even more for the challenge. Atlas had come far in the past weeks; the wolf now responded to his name, as well as some other basic commands. Her idea was working, and Atlas would soon be an excellent fighter. 

Today, she would challenge High General Pahn for his position and Nia had no idea of her plan. She would certainly object when she learned of the challenge, because if Klark was to die, the Queen wanted to be the one to kill her so she could take her power, and she couldn’t do that if Klark was killed by Pahn. But if Klark challenged him publicly, Nia couldn’t do anything to prevent it without getting questioned. She might have pushed the challenge further down the road, but Pahn had dismissed the threat of the Raiders and refused to acknowledge that they would attack again. It was very ignorant of him to think that they weren’t capable of another attack, and he was very wrong. Klark knew that they would continue to attack innocent villages, and she would do what to took to ensure the safety of the people of Azgeda. And if that meant challenging the High General, then that was what she would do. 

Klark left the training area with Roan and Ontari and walked through the war camp. It was time to issue the challenge. She knew that Pahn would be with his gonas - probably somehow fueling their hatred for the other clans - so she led them to the separate part of the war camp where the High General’s army trained. Pahn was standing off to the side of a large open area where over a hundred gonas were training furiously. 

He noticed them immediately and stepped away from the warrior he was talking to, walking over to where they stood by the entrance. Instead of heeding the usual protocol for a greeting another General, he simply stopped in front of her and looked down in distain. “ _General_ Klark.” He sneered, mocking her title as if he hadn't been the one who had acknowledged her capabilities as a General to the Queen all those months ago. “Do you have a reason to be here, or are you just wasting time as usual.”  _Wasting time? I have been training nonstop for months._ Klark had no idea what he was talking about. 

Apparently taking her lack of response as a win, he smirked down at her. “Training a wolf to be a part of the Azgeda army? Idiotic. You are just too weak to actually accomplish anything worthwhile.” Klark hated the man with every fiber of her being. Fighting back the incredible urge to attack him then and there, she crossed her arms instead. “Oh really? You must certainly hope so.” His eyes flashed slightly,  _very_ slightly, in confusion and Klark smirked at him, her eyes glinting menacingly. “High General Pahn, I challenge you for your position as High General of Azgeda. Let’s see how I accomplish  _this_ .”

The gonas within earshot all paused what they were doing to watch the dramatics unfold. Pahn’s face turned purple with rage at her insolence, and he growled, “you dare to challenge  _me_ _?_ Ha! I accept your challenge,  _General Klark_ .” He said her name in a slimy manner that made her skin crawl, though she didn't show it. “You have two hours to prepare for your death.” Klark turned partially back towards Roan and Ontari before responding with “we will see who  _actually_ comes out of this challenge alive. Perhaps you should prepare as well.” He snarled at the clear disrespect of his abilities, but didn't attack her like he clearly wanted. Pahn knew that he would have the chance to fight her very soon. 

Cheers rang through the air as she led Roan and Ontari from High Generals training area. The gonas were eager for a fight, and she knew that they did not really care who won. Pahn had taught them to bury their emotions so deep down that they were hardly felt, and while that had turned them into bloodthirsty warriors, they had no attachment to the High General. Something that would change if she won the challenge. Which she  _would_ . Klark had to win in order to save her people. Pahn would do nothing that wasn’t to his advantage, but the Raiders had to be stopped before they could kill more people. Winning was the only option.

They returned to the castle where a messenger approached them immediately after they entered through the main doors. Nia had ordered Klark’s presence in the throne room immediately.  _That was faster than I expected. Her spies work quickly_ _._ The Queen must have learned of the challenge just minutes after it had been issued. Bracing herself for the Queen’s anger, Klark said goodbye to Ontari and Roan, who both agreed to meet in her chambers, and walked through the castle to the throne room. 

The doors opened immediately as she approached, the guards obviously preinformed of her arrival. Klark strode into the room and stopped before the scowling Nia. She bowed her head. “My Queen.” Nia skipped all formalities and went directly to the point. “You know what will happen if you lose, Wanheda.” She would kill all of the Skaikru. The thought didn’t please her, but though Klark would be sad at causing the deaths of her former friends, she would be more impacted by the fact that she wasn’t able to change anything for the people of Azgeda. Plus, she would be dead before anything happened. “Yes, my Queen. I will not lose.” 

Nia did not look convinced of her abilities, but moved on. She couldn’t do anything to stop the challenge. “Go prepare.” Klark nodded and turned to leave the room, but paused when Nia spoke once more. “And General Klark, after the challenge you will have twenty lashes for your insubordination. You should have asked for my permission to challenge the High General.” Klark simply nodded once more before she exited the room, but internally she was screaming. _Twenty lashes?! For challenging Pahn?!_ Nia must be incredibly angry that Klark was risking her life for something unnecessary. Not because she cared about Klark, of course, but because she was putting the power of Wanheda on the line. Something Nia desperately wanted to maintain control of. They would hurt, but Klark would have to worry about the lashes later. She had to prepare for the challenge. 

Klark walked to her chambers as fast as she could and opened the door slowly to prevent Atlas from running out. She needn’t have worried, though. The small white wolf was happily curled up on Roan’s lap. “What did Queen Nia say?” Klark stepped into the room fully and shut the door, leaning against it. “She was mad, as expected. I’ve got twenty lashes after the challenge.” That got their full attention. In near synchrony they both exclaimed, “twenty lashes?!” They’d all had much worse done to them, both in battle and by Nia’s hand, but it was still more than expected for Klark simply exercising one of her abilities as a General. She sighed. “I know. But it doesn’t matter right now. I need to stay focused on the challenge.” Ontari threw her the tin of white war paint and Klark dipped her fingers in the powder, drawing them across her face diagonally.

* * *

Klark stood at the edge of the crowd, Roan and Ontari beside her. There was more people than she had ever seen at any challenge before. It seemed like the whole city had come to see their fight, likely because of how rare a challenge against the High General was. Only one of the four Generals could challenge the High General, so a fight of this magnitude was very uncommon. 

The crowd grew silent as the man started to introduce the fight, and Klark turned to look at her friends once more. “ Crush him, Klark.” Klark grinned at Ontari, harnessing all of her anger towards Pahn before stepping forward to enter the fighting arena.  _I will._

* * *

* * *

** High General Pahn **

The girl finally stepped out from the crowd where she had been hiding with the disgraced prince and Ontari, the freakishly skilled young General. At least Ontari would have been a challenge, but Klark? He nearly laughed out loud at the idea. The idiotic girl thought herself strong enough to best  _him_ . The High General. She looked far too confident in her skills, and Pahn scowled. He would spare no mercy on her. Klark had brought this on herself. She had been a nuisance since she had become a General, going on every single mission with him. Pahn had eventually been forced to acknowledge her ‘ _skills_ _’_ to Queen Nia just to get her away from him. The girl had questioned his actions far too much.

Klark turned to face him.  _Finally_ . She was lucky that he had waited for the Challenge Marshall to give the fight command before attacking. It would have been so,  so easy to just kill her immediately, but where was the fun in that? He would kill her slowly, and he would enjoy every second of it. Pahn drew his sword and threw the scabbard to the side, moving into an attack position as Klark did the same with her dual swords. The fight order sounded and they both leaped at each other, swords clashing in a ring of steel. 

She was faster than he had expected, and Pahn narrowly avoided her swords as they flew towards him. He pushed his sword down, using his strength to push her into the ground. She wasn’t strong enough to push up against his sword, and he nearly smiled. It was so easy. Then, to his surprise, instead of continuing to push up against his sword, Klark rolled to the side and leaped behind him, slashing the back of his thigh before he could lift his sword from the ground. Pahn growled and spun, ignoring the pain in his leg as he swung his sword at her. 

They exchanged a series of blows until he saw an opening.  _I’ve got her now._ Pahn lunged forward, and though Klark leaned back to avoid it, he was faster and his sword pierced through her right shoulder. She gritted her teeth her teeth to stop herself from crying out, and he grinned down at her. Not about to let the slippery girl get the chance to fight back, he kicked her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground.

* * *

* * *

** Klark **

She hadn’t leaned back far enough. His sword had been slightly longer than she had anticipated, and now she was sprawled on her back, shoulder aching. Her sword was only just out of reach, so she quickly tried to roll to the side, but he kicked her in the stomach again before she could stand. Klark grunted at the impact but refused to cry out. She was stronger than that. She just had to find a way to stand up before he killed her, then she could kill  _ him _ . Luckily for her, Pahn liked to take his time killing people. 

The crowd was clamoring for blood to be spilled, eager to see a victor. Klark toned them out. She focused on Pahn who was waking slowly towards her, sword making a grating sound as he dragged it against the cobblestones. He looked entirely sure of himself, as if he was so egocentric that Pahn entirely believed that there was no way that she could get up from her position. She let him get closer, choosing to study the huge man in lieu of another attempt to escape. Without a proper plan, it would be futile. He smirked at her menacingly and raised his sword to her throat. The crowd watched with bated breath, but Klark simply continued to study him. She had been studying him for months and she knew that Pahn liked to toy with his prey. But he wouldn’t expect his prey to be the one playing with him. 

He drew a shallow line across her throat, and instead of flinching, Klark grinned up at him, eyes blazing with malice. He stepped back the  _tiniest_ amount, his sword moving to the right an inch, and her body flooded with instant adrenaline as he hesitated for a brief second. The world around her felt as if it were in slow motion as Klark pushed her legs up high in the air.  


His eyes widened, but instead of continuing on her trajectory to kick him in the face and risking the pain of his sword, she moved her legs into the air beside him and pushed up with her arms at the same time, launching her body through the air to land behind him in a crouch. He had only started to turn and face her before Klark stomped her foot on the back of his knee, bringing him to a kneeling position . Klark felt weightless as the world continued to move slowly around her, and she dove for her sword as Pahn started to stand up.

Before he could swing at her, Klark lifted her sword and stabbed it into his chest. She pulled it out without ceremony as the crowd gasped in shock. This was certainly an unexpected turn of events. Pahn slowly fell onto his back with a wet grunt, blood already leaking out of his mouth. Not one to break his image of strength, even in the face of death, Pahn rasped, “fuck you, bitch!” Klark twirled her sword once and smiled down at him. “You wish,  _ bitch _ .” His face darkened in rage but he couldn’t get up, though that didn’t stop him from trying. Klark laughed at his futile attempts and lifted her hand in a wave, raising and lowering her fingers one by one. “Bye bye.” She swung the sword over her head and brought it down on his neck, separating the head from the body in one swing, blood spewing out to add to the puddle already pooling around him.

She stood still, sword dripping blood onto the ground. Pahn was dead. Klark looked up slowly from the bloody mess and smiled grimly. The arena was silent for a brief moment, then the crowd erupted into cheers, celebrating the rise of a new High General. She looked over to the platform where Nia was seated, not looking at all disappointed by the death of High General Pahn. The Queen nodded once, satisfied that the power of Wanheda was still under her control. Next to her, the Challenge Marshall quickly brushed away his shock at the outcome of the challenge and raised his hand for silence, as was his duty.  


The silence of the arena was deafening as the people of Anolia waited for the announcement of her victory with bated breath. Thrusting his fist into the air, the Challenge Marshall broke into a loud yell that echoed through the city. “General Klark kom Azgeda has won the challenge. All hail High General Klark!” The cheers were even louder than before, and Klark basked in it, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. Now she could protect her people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So I know I said that this would be the last chapter of the flashbacks... eheh it’s not. But I PROMISE the next one is is! I didn’t want to double the length of this chapter when it was almost already the size of a usual chapter. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading!! I hope you guys like it so far :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s the last flashback chapter! Get ready for come crazy time jumps

One year and ten months ago: Mid November 2150

** Klark **

Klark stepped onto the large platform and looked down at the army of Azgeda, prepared to chose the gonas for her personal army. Hundreds of warriors were packed together tightly in the streets of the war camp, waiting attentively for her to speak. They were usually very rowdy, always managing to get into fights and disagreements, but today the gonas were on their best behavior. Being a part of the High General’s army was both a great honor and a testament to a gona’s skill, and every gona would be doing their best to get chosen.

Instead of simply choosing the most skilled and bloodthirsty warriors as the past High Generals had all done, Klark had decided on a different approach. “Gonas!” Her voice rang through the air and they fell silent, looking up at her expectantly. She had never addressed a group as large as this before, but Klark did not show any of her nerves as she spoke. No emotions would be shown until Klark knew she could trust who she was with. “As you know, I will be selecting some of you to be a part of my army. Unlike previous years, this selection will be slightly different.” She explained her selection method to the gonas, who looked slightly confused as to why she didn’t only want the strongest amongst them but didn’t question her orders. “Go now!” As one, the gonas rushed in the direction of the training areas, ready to demonstrate their skills. They would train and she would walk around and observe them, handpicking the gonas that stood out to her. 

Once all of the gonas had all disappeared from the street, Klark rubbed her left shoulder where the proof of her new position had been permanently tattooed into her skin yesterday: a crown that floated above the symbol of Azgeda. She almost couldn’t believe it.  _High General Klark_.  Klark was the High General of Azgeda. She stepped down from the platform, wincing slightly from the pain in her back. Nia had followed through with her punishment yesterday, and Klark now had several jagged wounds scattered across her back from the whip, in addition to the stab wound. It hadn’t been her first time being punished in that manner but it had still hurt like hell. She didn’t regret the challenge, though. Klark would be able to protect her people effectively now, and that was worth the lashes. 

After waiting a brief second, Klark walked in the direction of the two training areas to begin the selection of gonas for her army. After a short minute of travel, she arrived at the largest training area where all of the gonas present were fighting each other as if they were in a true battle. Immediately noticing her presence, the gonas swung at each other with renewed vigor. These were the most skilled gonas of the Azgeda army, and Klark walked through the midst of their training to observe their skills. She stopped the fights of the gonas that she selected and ordered them to meet with her once the selection was complete. Most of them were unremarkable, just brute strength and anger, but they would be the backbone of her army. Klark knew that it was often the people who appeared to be the weakest who ended up being the strongest, so she chose enough men to create a formidable army, then went to see the gonas in the other training area. 

The skill levels of the gonas in the lower training area were considerably less advanced than the people she had just observed. Their movements were less articulated and she could tell that some of them were not accumulated to the weapons that they were fighting with, which was strange for members of the army.  _They must have other skills..._ “Halt!” Their movements stopped instantly as the gonas stood at attention, weapons hanging at their sides. “Those of you who are comfortable with the weapons you arecurrently fighting with, go to the right side of the training area and continue your training.” She pointed in that direction and most of the gonas moved to stand on that side of the field, some more hesitantly than others. “The rest of you, come with me. And if you lie about your abilities, you lose any chance of becoming part of my army.” Klark looked towards the large group of people on the right side of the field. “I will give you one chance to move to the correct side. You have ten seconds!”

Once the gonas had all moved to their appropriate positions, Klark took in the thirty or so gonas that stood before her. The gonas to the right, over three hundred of them, spread out and started training once more. After surveying the group in front of her for a brief moment, she pointed at a young man with jet black hair. “You. Why are you in the army?” He looked up at her, hiding his nerves quite well. “I’m a scout.” He paused, then added, “and I prefer using knives over a sword which is why I was uncomfortable with it. We can all fight well, but as you know, swords are the weapon of choice for Azgeda, so anyone who only uses other weapons is seen as weak unless they are a guard.” He stopped talking, looking horrified that he had spoken out of turn, but Klark merely nodded, contemplating the new information. All gonas obviously had weapons other than swords, but she hadn’t known that people who disliked sword fighting were looked down on. It was quite stupid, actually, because that meant their other skills were ignored. That would have to be changed, for it was a large waste of their potential. 

Klark focused on the gonas once more. “Go get your preferred weapons.” They hesitated and Klark raised an eyebrow, daring them to question her. They wisely decided against it and walked to the edge of the training area where they had left their other belongings on the ground, each grabbing a different weapon. “Good. Now train.” They followed her order and she watched them with interest as they began to train furiously with more skill than before.   


She had already chosen ninety of the most skilled gonas to be a part of her army, but she had room for thirty more people. Klark did the same as earlier and began informing more gonas of their new position, the dark haired scout among them. She had chosen the strongest gonas from each group - for maximum strength, of course - but her army would consist of more than just the bloodthirsty warriors that had made up the armies of the past High Generals. Plus, she would be encouraging them to have emotions so that they would stop being heartless killers and instead be just skilled warriors. Klark was not quite sure how she was going to teach them, exactly, but that was her goal. Just minutes later, she ordered the selected gonas to follow her back to the platform so she could address her new army. 

She stood before her warriors

“Congratulations gonas, you have been selected to be a part of my army!” Loud cheers rang through the war camp and she held back a small smile, maintaining her blank expression. “We begin training tomorrow at dawn. If you are proficient in any weapon besides the sword, bring it as well. And do not be late.” The gonas nodded as one, serious once more. “You are dismissed.” They each clapped a fist over their heart and bowed - a sign of respect towards her - before leaving to return to the other gonas. Klark waited for them all to leave before she stepped down from the platform, holding her back as straight as possible to avoid unnecessary pain, and walked back to the castle, every person she passed bowing respectfully. Being the High General would take some getting used to. 

Klark opened the door to her room and shut it quickly behind her, crouching down to meet Atlas as he ran towards her happily. The tiny pup had already grown in the two weeks that he had been with her, and he was already large enough that she had to hold him in her arms now. She had been fortunate to discover that he could eat solid foods as long as they were in small pieces, and Atlas seemed to be doing well without the milk that he would usually have. Klark would have to hunt for him until was big enough to do it himself, but that wouldn’t be for very long. He was growing quickly. 

* * *

Klark bowed to the Queen, having been summoned to the throne room only minutes after she had returned to her rooms. “My Queen.” “Wanheda. You have...  _proven_ ... your value to me. Now that you are High General, I am supplying you with a horse.” _A horse?!_ “It has already received basic training, but you are to train it yourself. You will be staying in Anolia for several months to continue training your horse, preparing your gonas, and perhaps training the wolf as well if your little experiment works.”

Klark ignored the criticism of her  _‘experiment’_ with Atlas. This was excellent; she wouldn’t have to leave the capitol so often.  _And_ she would be able to attend more of the Generals’, which wild be more helpful now that she had the power to actually do something worthwhile. Nia continued speaking, “Additionally, the High Generals’ chambers will be completed today. You-“ The Queen was interrupted by a knock at the door and she spared it an annoyed glance. “What.” A guard stepped in, glancing behind him. “My Queen, one of your scouts had returned from Trikru. She says that she has important information.” Nia glanced at Klark, looking as if she were about to dismiss her, but decided against it. “Let them in.” The guard stepped out and a young woman stepped in, bowing to Nia before speaking. 

“This morning, I overheard some villagers saying that Skaikru has joined the coalition.”  _What?! How the fu-_ Nia stood up from her throne suddenly .  _ “ What _ _.”_ Her voice was frigid, anger emitting from her in waves. “Explain.” The messenger looked at them fearfully but did as the Queen asked. “All I know is that Heda only needed ten of the clans to agree, so she did not deign to invite Azgeda to the ceremony. The other clans laugh at us.” Nia’s teeth were gritted together to tightly that Klark thought they would break, nearly shaking in anger. She was clenching her knife tightly, obviously wanting to attack something, but what? The knife flew into the throat of the scout, who fell to the ground with a gurgle of blood.  _Oh_ .

Nia turned to Klark, eyes blazing with anger. “Your _people_ are safe now. Will you be...  _returning_ ... to them?” Even if Klark had wanted to do so, which she didn’t, she would have never admitted anything to the Queen. Especially when she looked like she was about to rip her head off. “No, my Queen. The Skaikru hold none of my loyalty anymore, and I will not be returning to them.” “ _Good_ . You may go.” Klark bowed and left the room, thoughts swirling through her mind. Joining the coalition was a move that she had not expected from her former people. There was no way that they had come up with the idea. To be under the control of the Commander?  _They would hate that_ _._ The Commander must have convinced them somehow...

Far away from where Klark was returning to her chambers, Raven was pacing her room angrily. She could not believe that the Chancellors had agreed to join the grounder’s coalition. The Commander had  _betrayed_ them and left them to die at Mount Weather, and now they were under her  _control?!_ Clarke was dead because of that traitorous bitch and Raven didn’t care what the benefits were. They had joined the very people who had left them to die!

Raven didn’t know why the Commander had even offered them a spot in the coalition. The Arkers had been nothing but a pain in the ass to the grounders since they had landed on Earth, and though their technology would benefit them, it was not enough of a reason to let Skaikru join the coalition. Abby and Kane had been easily swayed by the promises of more land and protection, but she knew that the Commander must have her own reasons, and Raven did not trust her. 

* * *

One year and six months ago: March 2151

Klark ran through the forest towards Anolia, a much bigger Atlas keeping pace by her side. Their morning runs had become a daily occurrence, providing Klark with a break from the city and Atlas with the time to hunt. The wolf had been growing steadily for months, and he was now taller than her knees. People had quickly learned of his presence once Nia had agreed to the continuation of his training, and most were scared of him after she had made it clear that he was not to be trifled with, or perhaps just scared of angering her. Either way, the wolf had made significant progress in the past months, and could understand many commands. She had taught him the words first but Klark had quickly realized that hand gestures would be more effective, so Atlas knew both for every command. 

Spotting a movement in the woods, Klark paused and whistled a low note, stopping Atlas immediately. She tapped her thigh once with her right hand, then pointed her hand in direction of the noise. Atlas lookedat where was pointing, ears perked up in interest .  He didn't react, though, so she knew that it was just an animal. Klark clicked her tongue twice and Atlas leaped forward, darting through the trees to grab what happened to be a rabbit. He brought the now dead rabbit to her feet and dropped it before looking up at her pleadingly. She smiled at his perfect completion of her commands. “Take it.” He followed her order, devouring the rabbit at an astounding speed before looking up at her obediently. Before they could continue their run, he stiffened and looked behind him. Klark mirrored her wolf’s position and looked around the forest for whatever it was. He had heard something, and this time it wasn’t an animal. 

She finally heard footsteps and quickly crept behind a large tree, pointing at the ground next to her so Atlas knew where to sit. He was well trained, but she didn’t know if he was skilled enough to take down an armed Raider yet. For that’s what they had to be. The Raiders had become a plague across Azgeda, but Klark had not been able to do anything about them until her army was fully prepared. It pained her to know that there was no mission to hunt them all down yet. Fortunately, that would change today. After over three months of training, her army was finally ready. Klark would be able to rid Azgeda of the Raiders once and for all. 

Right after the six Raiders walked past her hiding place, not noticing them, Klark snuck out from behind the tree and crept beside the path. She had ordered Atlas to stay where he was so that he could sneak up on them while they were distracted with her. The wolf needed to learn to kill people somehow, and this was her best plan. She stopped ahead of them and turned towards the path, not reaching for any weapon before stepping out in front of the Raiders. “Hello there.” Their eyes widened in shock and they stopped suddenly, caught off guard by her unexpected presence. “You know better than to come into the lands of the coalition.” A large man came to the front of the group and sneered down at her. “And what are you going to do about it,  _girl?_ ” Instead of responding, Klark quickly pulled off her fur coat, leaving only a sleeveless top and her two knives strapped to her thighs. “Just a girl, huh?” 

One of them gasped, noticing her tattoo. He stepped forward and whispered loud enough to for her to hear, “Landon... she’s the High General.” His eyes widened, flicking back and forth from her face to her open shoulder. Klark smiled without any humor, drawing her knives. “Unfortunately for you, this is a  _test_ of sorts.” She clicked her tongue twice and Atlas appeared in the snow behind the Raiders, prowling towards them. “So I will give you a choice. You can die by my hand,” she smirked. “or... why don’t you look behind you.” The Raiders in the back quickly turned, instantly spotting the wolf that was approaching them. “Landon... Landon she has a fucking  _wolf!_ ” Klark twirled her knives as they frantically looked back and forth between the wolf with his fangs bared and the smirking High General with the razor sharp knives, fear written all over their faces. “Choose wisely.” 

Atlas lunged for the first Raider, eliciting a scream of fear as the man swung his sword in a futile attempt to strike the wolf. Atlas leaped onto his chest, quickly delivering a killing bite to his neck before moving on to the next Raider. He was doing very well, but the wolf was still mostly untrained in combat against people who were actively trying to kill him, so Klark joined in the fray, taking down several Raiders with well placed swipes of her knives. With only six opponents, the fight was over in minutes. 

Klark scanned Atlas for injuries from where she faced him over the bodies, but it was impossible to tell whether the blood covering the wolf was his own or the Raiders’. He didn’t show any sign of serious injury, so she assumed that it was mostly the latter, which was good. She had been worried that he wasn’t ready, but he had managed to avoid the Raiders’ sword strikes like she had trained him to do. “Good job, Atlas.” His tongue lolled as the wolf went back to his happy demeanor, unaffected by the people he had just killed. It was as if nothing had happened, though the blood staining them and the decimated Raiders said otherwise. 

Uncaring of the deaths that she had just caused, Klark leaned over and grabbed her coat out of the snow, putting it on before turning back in the direction of the capital. She tapped her leg twice to summon Atlas to her side, and they resumed their run back to the city, leaving the bodies of the Raiders on display in the glimmering snow behind them. 

Before entering the city, Klark put her hood up, but she was easily recognizable by the large wolf at her side. Cheers rang through the crowds at her arrival, and she easily caught the whispers of their heroics. Rumors were already spreading of the events of today, spurred by the blood stains on Atlas’s white fur. They couldn’t see the blood splattered over her face and shirt through her coat, and she was relieved of that.  _I really do need my own entrance into the city. Dealing with the crowds each time is quite annoying._ They walked into the castle quickly, heading for the North Tower. 

As they ascended the steps, Klark pulled off her coat, exposing her blood splattered face and clothes, ready to take a much needed bath before she met with Queen Nia and the other Generals. She stepped through the doorway and immediately paused, realizing that there were other people in her room. She reached for her knife but quickly realized that it was just Roan and Ontari. Klark ushered Atlas into the room and closed the door behind them. “What are you  doing in here?!” Roan and Ontari were sprawled on her sofa, looking very comfortable. Ontari shrugged. “Your chambers are huge and we were waiting for you to-“ she cut off, finally taking a good look at them. 

Ontari was at her side in a flash, scanning them both for injuries. “What happened? I thought you were just going for a run.” Klark grinned at her, the blood on her cheeks cracking slightly. “Aw, are you worried about me?” Ontari scowled but refrained from leaping at Klark like she usually did when she made fun of her, probably because of the blood. Klark stepped further into the room, meeting Roan’s worried eyes.  _They’re both worried. Ha. As if I can’t take care of myself._ “We’re fine. Just ran into some Raiders on the way back.” Her eyes brightened. “ _And_ , Atlas killed four of them!” Relieved they they weren’t injured, Roan flopped back onto the sofa, calling out, “that’s great, Klark.” She nodded, moving towards the bell on the wall. Klark pulled the string to summon her maid, not caring that Roan and Ontari were still in her chambers. She needed to clean up desperately. 

After Teresa filled the large bath, Klark quickly washed the blood off of herself and Atlas and changed her clothes, not spending any more time than necessary on the task. Later, she and Ontari left for the Generals meeting where Klark informed Nia of her army’s readiness. The Raider problem had gotten increasingly worse, and Queen Nia no longer questioned the necessity of the mission. Klark would leave tomorrow morning with her army and begin the hunt for the Raiders. 

.......................................................

Klark hugged Roan before turning to face Ontari, whose face twisted in disgust. “Hell no. I am not huggi-  _umph_ .” Klark pulled a very uncomfortable Ontari into a hug, quickly pulling away before she could hit her. Klark smirked victoriously. “Ha.” She grabbed Adrian’s reigns and leaped onto his back as Ontari glowered up at her. She waved down at her sarcastically. “I will be gone for over a month. Don’t miss me too much or I’ll start to think you care!” Roan snorted, trying to conceal his laughter from Ontari who turned towards him furiously. “She will miss you.” Ontari smacked him and he shrugged, unaffected by the hit. “She’ll at least miss arguing with you.” Klark laughed, spurring Adrian out of her stables and towards where her gonas were waiting, yelling over her shoulder. “I’ll miss you too, Ontari.” As she approached her gonas, who looked at her expectantly, she could still hear the muffled voices of Ontari and Roan as they continued to bicker. _‘_ _What do you mean you don’t care about us? You literally said...’_

Klark raised her fist, hiding her smile as she yelled “kom war!”, eliciting cheers from her gonas as they rode through the city and out the gates. After being left alone for too long, the Raiders would finally pay for their actions. 

Klark led her gonas through the snow covered mountains of Azgeda, pushing their horses at a fast pace. She was eager to reach the border and finally begin the elimination of the Raiders. They had been killing her people for months now, and she hadn’t been able to do anything about it. Until today. 

Klark and her army would hunt down any of the Raiders who dared enter Azgeda and kill innocent people. Until the Raiders were vanquished, she knew that her life would revolve around her mission. Azgeda would get justice for the attacks against its people, and the Raiders would soon regret their decisions to re-enter the lands of the coalition. 

* * *

One month ago: August 2152

A clear change had come over Klark in the past year. Scars now decorated her muscular body, and her once innocent eyes held a darkness that would remain in them forever. Due to her extremely successful attacks on the Raiders, Klark’s left arm now bore hundreds of kill marks, linked together by an intricate tribal tattoo. In the fashion of a true Azgeda warrior, her face had been scarred in a design of her choosing: two lines across either cheek towards her mouth, and a large v-shape across her forehead. Klark hadn’t been weak for years, but she was now more powerful than she could have ever imagined herself being. 

Klark did not regret becoming High General in the slightest, for she had the power to do what was necessary for Azgeda, but there were two downsides. Firstly, she would not be spending much time in Anolia with Roan and Ontari until the Raiders had been dealt with, though that was coming along well. Raider attacks were much more rare than they had been, so that issue would come to an end soon enough. But her second reason was her main concern: Klark could not kill Nia. Klark had no love for the Queen, hated the woman in fact, but if she dispatched Nia to change Azgeda for the better, then Klark would have to be Queen. And she absolutely did not want that.  _Control over an entire clan? Hell no._ Klark did not want more power, she just wanted the right thing to be done.

And the right thing was not being done, but right now, it wasn’t Nia that was doing something wrong. No, it was the  _Commander_ . The Raiders had been a plague in Azgeda for years, decimating villages and slaughtering hundreds of innocent people. They had even been a nuisance in Azgeda’s neighboring clans, so it was obvious that the Commander knew that it was an issue. Yet, despite the laws of her own coalition, Azgeda had never received aid from the Commander. And because of that, Klark could only stay in Anolia for brief moments because of the amount of Raiders that her army had to deal with.  _Funny how the Commander’s actions can make me kill hundreds of people more than one time_.  It really wasn’t funny, but it  was slightly ironic that the Commander was still managing to force Klark into killing people, even when Lexa thought that she was dead.

In one of her brief moments in Anolia, Klark walked into her chambers with Atlas, both of them covered in blood. It had become a common occurrence, and neither Roan nor Ontari blinked an eye at the sight of her, each embracing her instead, glad that she had returned safely. It had taken a long time, but Ontari had eventually learned that she could show more emotion around Klark and Roan, despite her emotionless upbringing. Klark considered Ontari to be her closest friend, and there was never a dull moment when they were together - the constant insults and surprise fights helped with that, plus some random flirting, which had started a few months ago. 

“ _Finally_ . I thought you got yourself killed!” Though Ontari said it as a joke, Klark could detect a hint of truth in her statement. She grinned for the first time since she had left Anolia three weeks ago. “By the Raiders? You know I’m better than that.” Ontari smirked, easily falling back into their usual banter. “Still not better than me, though.”  _Oh she really pulled that one on me._ Klark gasped in mock offense at the very true statement. “You wound me, General.” She laughed as they continued the banter while Roan sat down with Atlas, settling back into their usual routine. Her time in Anolia was really the only time that she was very happy. Of course she enjoyed the time she spend with her gonas, especially her captains, who she had become very close with, but Roan and Ontari were her family. 

Though they were not of the same blood, Klark considered Roan to be her brother. They were as close as siblings would be, so it fit. It was the same with Ontari, but they were better described as close friends. Siblings didn’t try to kill each other or fight with each other, at least not to the extent that they did. 

Klark remembered something very important. “Oh, there’s bread in the market.” Ontari’s head shot up from where she had been crouching next to Atlas. With a very serious task in mind, she stood and walked to the door. “Let’s go now.” Roan groaned in annoyance but stood up, ready to accompany them down to the city. Their obsession with bread was strange, but Klark and Ontari did not care. Bread was delicious. 

As they walked, Roan broke the silence and asked the inevitable question: “When do you leave?” Klark sighed. “We leave tomorrow.” Roan and Ontari both stopped walking and stared at her incredulously. She smiled sadly this time, about as eager for her departure as they were. “I know, it’s soon. But Queen Nia has ordered me to send a message to the southern clans using the Raiders.” Klark brushed away any trace of sadness, not needing to spoil their day together. “Luckily for you, Atlas will be staying here this time!” They both looked disappointed for a moment, but Ontari’s expression quickly shifted to amusement. “Yeah, Roan. We have Atlas, why would we need her?” He laughed as Klark shoved her, hard. Laughing, she walked with them down to the market, not showing any trace of sadness. 

She was helping the people of Azgeda, she knew that, but Klark did not enjoy spending this much time away from Anolia and the people she cared for. At least the amount of Raiders had decreased dramatically over the past year and a half, so she knew that it would not be like this much longer.  


Klark just hadn’t expected that it would be her last mission against the Raiders.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow that was a long chapter! *wipes forehead dramatically* But the flashback is over!!! So we can finally get back to the main storyline now that we all know how Klark became such a badass.
> 
> Personally, I’m super exited for the clexa reunion and I haven’t even written it yet lol. And super surprised that I managed to update before midnight like every other time...
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and let me know what you think!


	12. Chapter 12

Present time: November 2152

**Lexa**

It had been several days since Lexa had gotten the message from Damon, and her plan was finally underway. She did not know what threat was coming, but they would need the strength of Nia’s army in the event of a war. Unfortunately for the Queen, Lexa  _would_ be getting the Azgeda army to join the rest of the coalition. And, now that it was abundantly clear that she had to, Lexa would take action in order to make it impossible for Nia to ignore her call to war. She scowled in frustration, staring down at her map of the coalition. It was incredibly irksome, but she would have to go to Azgeda’s capitol herself to retrieve the army.

There was a knock at the door and Lexa didn’t bother to ask who it was. She was expecting them. “Enter.” For the second time in less than a week, the Skaikru chancellors and Raven walked into her throne room. She gestured for them to stand with her at the table. “Thank you for coming.” Marcus nodded in acknowledgment, clear respect in his expression. Abby did the same, but it was obvious that she did not want to be in Lexa’s presence. She may not blame the Commander for Clarke’s disappearance - not entirely, at least - but Abby had not forgotten her betrayal, and though Lexa could never betray them now that they were considered to be her people, the woman still did not trust her. She did manage to be civil, though, so that was something. 

Their politeness was a stark contrast to Raven, who was clearly fighting back a fierce glare - to no avail, she might add. Ravens hatred for her was obvious, and Lexa didn’t fault her for it. Her anger was not entirely unwarranted, though Lexa had thought that it would have simmered down after all this time. It hadn’t. Unfortunately for Raven, Lexa would need her skills, so the skai girl would simply have to deal with her presence until the Azgeda army was united with the rest of the coalition. 

Marcus spoke, oblivious to her thoughts. “Of course, Commander. Your messenger mentioned something about Azgeda?” Lexa nodded curtly, eyes briefly scanning the three Skaikru before her. “Yes. We will need the Azgeda army if war does come to pass. The threat in the west will not be taken lightly.” She turned to the left slightly in order to address the scowling brunette. “Raven, has there been any change in the amount of people appearing outside the borders?” She shook her head and Lexa exhaled slightly in relief, though her stony demeanor did not change. _“_ _Good._ _”_ She folded her hands behind her back, raising her chin slightly. “This will be discussed during the meeting with the ambassadors, but I will be taking a small party of gonas to Azgeda to retrieve my army. Raven kom Skaikru, you are to come as well. Your knowledge of your radios will be necessary for fast communication.”

Raven scowled and Lexa could tell that this was the last thing she wanted to do. Doubtlessly because  _she_ had been the one to order her to come. But Raven’s feelings were not her concern. Lexa needed her skills, so her presence was not negotiable. Her face must have said as much because Raven did not protest, though her glance towards Marcus made it obvious that she would like to.

He shook his head at her slightly - a warning against arguing - before he looked towards Lexa. “How long will the retrieval take?” Though she didn’t know an exact number of days, she could make an estimate. “A week at the most. It should be a simple task.” Kane nodded and she dismissed them. More information would be discussed with the ambassadors. Once they left, Lexa sat on her throne, taking a moment before the ambassadors were let in. It would be best if the trip was shorter so she could plan for the possible war. Unfortunately, it was likely that they would be forced to remain in the capitol for a couple days. Of course, Nia was obligated to allow the Commander control over her gonas, but the army would not be prepared to march to Polis immediately. Lexa would have to organize the army and choose the gonas that would accompany her before they could leave. 

Hopefully the High General of Azgeda would be helpful and work with Lexa, but she did not know what to expect from the woman. At least she didn’t have to deal with High General Pahn anymore. That man had been a constant pain in the ass since he had risen to power, and the new one - who Nia, strangely, hadn’t named - couldn’t be worse than him. At least she hoped so. Lexa did not want to deal with another egotistical High General in addition to Nia, who already plotted against her constantly. 

Just a few minutes later, the ambassadors to the thirteen clans filed into the room. Once they were seated, Lexa began to summarize her plan, letting them know of her absence for the next week. The Azgeda ambassador shifted slightly and she studied him closely, but he spoke up before she could demand his knowledge of Nia’s plot. “Heda, what makes you believe that Queen Nia is plotting against you? The winter in Azgeda can be  very treacherous for those who lack knowledge of our lands. Wouldn’t it be more likely that the messengers simply did not manage to deliver the message to my Queen?” 

She looked down at him and tilted her head slightly. “Yes, that  _would_ be more likely.” He looked smug for a short moment before she continued, wiping the victorious expression off his face. “ _But_ , one of my messengers  _has_ returned after delivering his message a week ago, yet Queen Nia has not made any move to assemble her army.” Noticing that his face had paled with dread, she lifted her chin slowly. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you,  _ambassador?_ ”

His throat bobbed almost imperceptibly as he quickly responded, “No Heda. My Queen has not said anything to me.” A blatant lie on his part. Lexa knew they had been exchanging messengers frequently, but she could not kill the ambassador for conspiring against her without exposing the fact that she had spies watching him. Lexa looked down at the Azgeda ambassador in distain, her expression making it clear that she knew he was lying, but she didn’t say anything about it. He knew that she knew the truth.

The ambassador would no doubt be sending a messenger to Nia, but it did not matter. The Queen could not prevent Lexa from assuming control over her army. Of course, she wouldn’t be the one actually controlling the Azgeda army - that was the role of the High General - but she  _would_ be taking the Azgeda gonas back with her to join the armies of the rest of the coalition to prepare for war.

She dismissed the ambassadors without allowing them any more questions. Her decision was final, and Lexa would not have any more of them questioning her decisions.  


* * *

The next morning, Lexa led her small party out of Polis and into the forest, only a small dusting of snow marking the presence of the Trikru winter. That would change as they traveled, though. There was always at least a few inches of snow on the ground In the far north of Azgeda - save for a few summer months - and because it was the peak of winter and the very height of the snow season, it would be much harder to travel. But they would manage; the Polis gonas she had chosen to accompany her were all experienced with travel in the harsh northern winter. 

She had expected it to only be herself, her gonas, and Raven who went to Azgeda, but there had been two unexpected additions to her party. After she had been informed of Lexa’s journey to Azgeda, Indra had been very...  _insistent_ ... that she accompany her, and Lexa had finally given in. Her General would be a useful presence, and her skills were doubtlessly useful in the event of an attack, so she had allowed it. And wherever Indra went, her sekon went as well, so Octavia was accompanying them to Azgeda too.

The two Skaikru girls were riding side by side behind her, talking quietly. Lexa did not care much for Octavia - or trust her, more like - but her presence had made Raven a great deal more amicable now that someone she was close with was with her. In fact, instead of glaring at Lexa for forcing her to come, she had been talking animatedly with Octavia, ignoring her entirely. It was a definite improvement from the sullen silence she had been expecting from the skai girl. 

The wind whipped through her hair as they rode at a fast pace towards Azgeda. It would be a two day trip for them to reach the capitol, and while the temperature was only moderately cold at the moment, the harsh Azgeda winter would soon be upon them as they traveled further north. 

* * *

**Klark**

It had been a week since she had returned from hunting the Raiders, and already there had been two more messengers summoning the Azgeda army to war. Unlike with Damon, Nia had immediately killed them, not bothering to let the messengers leave the city. It was more effective that way, and they didn’t need to bother with sending an assassin. Strangely, there hadn’t been any messengers to arrive in Anolia for over three days. The weather  _was_ particularly harsh this year, so perhaps the Commander had made the wise decision to stop sending them to their deaths. She clearly didn’t know that it had been Nia who had killed the messengers, so it would be easy for the her to assume that the dangerous weather had been the cause of their deaths. At least Klark hoped so.

Going to war in the south was the very last thing she wanted to do, especially because she would be forced to work with the  _ Commander .  Hell no _ _._ She scowled at the horrifying idea and called Atlas to her side, leading them down tower staircase to go train. Klark needed a distraction from her thoughts. With perfect timing, a fully armed Ontari exited her room just as Klark and Atlas passed the Generals landing, and she immediately joined them. “Training?” Klark nodded and they continued down the stairs together In a companionable silence. 

The castle hallways were freezing in spite of the lanterns that lit them, but she was used to it after spending three years living in the coldest part of the coalition. The cold did not bother her like it once had, and Klark had even found herself discarding her fur coat occasionally, even when the weather had reached levels far colder than she had ever experienced before she had been brought to Azgeda. Whether because of her facial scars, her ruthless nature in battle, or her love of the cold, it was clear that she was a part of the clan that she now called home. She may not have been born here, but there was no doubting that Klark belonged to Azgeda.

“Klark!” Ontari’s voice pulled her out of her reverie and she jumped aside, narrowly avoiding a horse that was careening towards her.  _What the hell?!_ Mentally berating herself for not paying attention to her surroundings, she turned around angrily, Ontari matching her movements. What fool had dared to approach the High General in such a manner? The horse had stopped a few paces past them, and Ontari beat her to the rider, speaking in a low, menacing tone. “ _Get off the horse right now and maybe I’ll let you explain yourself before I kill you._ ” The rider mumbled something imperceptible and moved to dismount the beast, barely touching the ground before he staggered a few steps and fell to the ground, groaning.

They exchanged a glance before looking down at him expectantly, waiting for a response. There was no point in appearing threatening when he looked as pathetic as  _that_.  The rider looked up at them blearily, his eyes slowly widening in recognition as he beheld Klark. But instead of begging for forgiveness like she had expected, he began to speak quietly. “I am a messenger for Ambassador Roku. I have urgent information for the Queen.” Klark‘s lips parted and she slowly looked up and met Ontari’s eyes with dread, both hoping against all odds that the information he carried was not what they suspected. “Can you walk?” He shifted on the ground in a failed attempt to stand and shook his head. “I apologize, High General. I have been riding for two days without pause.”  _Two whole days without stopping? He must be exhausted._ She sighed, looking over at Ontari who just shrugged.   


Klark reluctantly squatted next to the messenger, glad that nobody else was around to see the High General demeaning herself in such a way. “Deliver your message to me. I will inform Queen Nia of the urgent information.” The messenger looked confused as to why she would do that, but complied with her order, going straight to the point: “The Commander is coming. One of her messengers somehow survived and reported back to her, and the Commander figured out Queen Nia’s plot to undermine her. She should be here...” He did a short calculation. “Tomorrow.” 

The messenger passed out from exhaustion immediately after croaking out the last few words, leaving her staring down at his immobile body in horror.  _Fuck_ . Not only was the Commander on the way, she would arrive sometime  _tomorrow_ , ruining Klark’s entire new life in the process. She stood up and exchanged a dark glance with Ontari, both very aware of their situation. “I have to inform Nia of the news. Can you get some gonas to take the messenger to the healer?” Ontari nodded, turning to yell at a pair of gonas lingering on the outskirts of the city. Immediately heeding the General’s order, they came running towards them and Ontari turned back to Klark for a brief second. “Be careful with Nia. She has killed messengers who have delivered better news than when you are about to tell her.” Klark knew that, but she did not have a choice in the matter. The Queen needed to know that the Commander was coming, and without the messenger to tell her, Klark would have to do it herself. 

She left Ontari to deal with Atlas and the messenger and reported to the throne room, waiting briefly for the guards to announce her presence before she quickly walked in, stopping before the throne. Her grave expression must have been unmistakable because Nia’s eyes immediately narrowed. _“_ _What is it?_ _”_ Klark hesitated briefly before speaking. “I have very bad news, my Queen.” She paused once more, struggling to find an adequate way to deliver the information to the Queen. Nia scowled down at her, nearly growling as she spoke threateningly, “If you do not speak in the _next five seconds_ I will _cut out_ your _tongue_ and feed it to your _wolf_.” Apparently she would _not_ be softening the blow. _Oh well_. Klark spoke immediately, wanting to keep her tongue where it was. “One of the Commanders messengers managed to report back to her. She will arrive in Anolia sometime tomorrow.”

Nia stared down at her in disbelief before her expression quickly shifted into one of anger; but it was not directed at Klark. The Queen stood up slowly from her throne and Klark looked up at her wearily, bracing for some sort of attack. She was unpredictable, and even if Klark was not the target of her anger, it was not uncommon for Nia to lash out at anything and everything around her. But today, it seemed that Klark was lucky, and the Queen swept out of the room, not giving the High General another thought.  _Fuck. Not this again._ Klark braced herself for the inevitable..

For a short moment, the castle was silent. Then all hell broke lose as Klark heard something shatter, then a booming yell of “ _Where is that assassin?_ ” Whoever it was that had failed to kill Damon would not be living to see another day, and from the sounds echoing through the castle, neither would the people that hasn’t had the chance to hide. There was a shriek, and Klark grimaced at Nia’s actions. Nia was truly an evil person and an awful Queen, but unfortunately Klark could not do anything about it. Becoming Queen was the last thing she wanted, but it was the only way to get rid of Nia - unless Roan challenged his mother, but he would rather die than be King. So Nia would stay in power, because nobody who could replace her wanted the power or the responsibility of the position. 

What a pair they were. The only two people who could replace the Queen were the only two people that did not want the position. She could have laughed at the fact, were the source of all their troubles not rampaging around her castle and killing innocent passersby. Klark would have once attempted to stop the Queen’s killing spree - perhaps back when she had been a better person than she was now - but she had a better sense of self preservation than that and Klark instead rushed back to the north tower, avoiding all hallways with any source of commotion. She may be the High General and the second highest power in Azgeda, but she knew when she had to avoid a fight. It was not weakness in any way; she was making the smart decision. 

Klark nearly collided with Ontari and Atlas as they both rounded opposite corners at the same time, going towards their tower in different directions. Ontari grimaced at Klark and pushed her back the way she came. “This way. Her majesty is destroying some vases over there.” Klark groaned at that, but increased her pace to match Ontari’s and they strode through a different set of hallways towards the north tower. Once they reached the stairwell, Ontari pulled Klark to a stop and looked at her in slight awe. “What did you  _say_ to her?! I just saw the Queen kill two servants because they  _looked_ in her direction!” 

Klark jabbed Ontari in the side and leaned back to avoid the immediate return blow that flew towards her, running up a few steps so the General couldn’t jump at her. “Don’t blame me! I told her exactly what the messenger said. She just... did not take it well.” It was the understatement of the year and they both new it. Ontari scoffed and walked up the stairs, shoving Klark into the wall in retaliation before walking past her, calling over her shoulder, “Come on, we have to go tell Roan.”  _Right_ . They entered the top floor of the tower and were immediately greeted by Roan, who was standing in front of the door, clearly having heard their footsteps. 

Atlas ran forward happily to greet him, unaffected by the Queen’s rampage, and Roan pet the wolf’s head absentmindedly as he looked at them expectantly. “What is wrong with my mother now? I can hear her destroying things from up here.” Before either of them could answer, his eyes narrowed as he observed their expressions, and his curious countenance shifted into one of dread. “Please tell me it’s not what I think it is.” Unfortunately, it was exactly what he was thinking - what they had all been thinking the moment they had learned that there was bad news. 

Klark grimaced and he sighed, resigning himself to what she was about to tell him: “We are going to war... and the Commander arrives tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am literally so exited for the next chapter y’all have no idea. I know it’s a bit shorter than the flashback chapters but I’ll probably be posting more often now that my chapters aren’t big af.
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

Present time: November 2152

** Raven **

Raven was dying. Possibly. She was so god dammed cold that it felt that way, at least. She had known the trip would be cold - she had  _prepared_ for the cold, even - but she had never expected to be forced to wear every single piece of clothing that she had packed and  _still_ be freezing. She had thought winter at Arkadia had been rough, but  _this?!_ Raven had never been this cold in her entire life and she had lived on  _ Mecha  _ Station! And apparently people lived in this awful place _willingly_ . She couldn’t imagine anyone actually choosing to live somewhere this damn  _cold_ when they could live literally anywhere else.

She pulled her blanket tighter across her shoulders, too cold to bother striking up a conversation with Octavia. They had been riding almost nonstop for the last two days, and though the weather hadn’t been terrible when they had left, it had been snowing almost nonstop for the entire trip. Fortunately, it was almost over. According to one of the gonas, they should be reaching the capitol - Anolia, it was called - by mid morning. 

Raven didn’t know why she’d had to come on this trip to fetch the Ice Nation army. Radios were not that hard to use, but the Commander had insisted. Well, she had looked at Raven so intimidatingly after telling her that she was coming with the group that Raven hadn’t questioned her. She  _had_ been asked to radio Kane to see if there was any new news about the people appearing to the west - there wasn’t - so at least her presence wasn’t completely pointless, but the grounders could have certainly learned how to use the radio themselves.

Pulling her out of her thoughts, the unexpected sound of Octavia’s voice caused her to jolt, and Raven almost fell out of the saddle, her arms flailing. “We’re getting close, Raven.” She quickly righted herself amid a few muffled snickers from the surrounding gonas as her friend spoke up for the first time in hours.  _Close? Thank God._ Raven nodded at Octavia in acknowledgement, loftily ignoring her smirk of amusement and the laughter of the surrounding gonas. The news was far too good to care that she had just made a fool of herself. They could finally get out of the damn snow, and even if it was in the Ice Nation, she was looking forward to finally being warm again.

While her horse increased its pace to match the others around them as they raced towards the capital, the new revelation that they were coming to the end of their journey spurred another thought: she had no idea what the Ice Nation was like. Besides the tales she had been told over the years, Raven did not have any personal knowledge of the Ice Nation or its people. But everyone she had asked had said the same things about the clan: they were so bloodthirsty that war was the only thing that drove them; they separated children from their parents so that they would grow up without ties to drag them down; they purposely scarred their own faces to show that they were strong enough to be true warriors; they were cruel, heartless,  _evil_ .

It was horrifying to think that  _that_ was where they were going. And for its army, no less. But, strangely, despite the overwhelming amount of negative comments about the Ice Nation, it was hard for her to believe that an entire clan of people could be as horrible as the descriptions she had heard. Perhaps she was being naive, but as they created the final hill and beheld the valley below them, Raven didn’t think so. No people with true evil in their hearts could build something like  _that_ .

As they exited the woods, Raven faintly realized that the snow had stopped but she was too busy staring down at the valley below them in awe to care. She didn’t know what she had expected from the Ice Nation, but it certainly hadn’t been a beautiful city swelling with life. 

Nestled in a large valley between the towering snow covered mountains to the north and the forested foothills to the south, the capital of the Ice Nation was a sight to behold. And though the Commander did not give them time to enjoy the view before leading the group down the hill and towards the city, the image would be forever imprinted in her memory. 

* * *

**Klark**

She had known the Commander was coming today - she had been  _prepared_ for it, ready with a plan to stay in her chambers and avoid her at all cost. But she had not expected her to arrive this damn  _early_ . So instead of being in her chambers, she was stuck  _outside_ the city with Atlas and Ontari. Klark had just wanted to follow her normal routine  _one final time_ before her world shattered, but instead of running through the forest, they were now staring down at the capitol in horror as the bells announced the Commanders presence.

Ontari shook off her shock far faster than Klark could and stood up from where they had been crouching. “Come on. Now is the best time to enter the city.” Klark looked at her dubiously, not wanting to risk anyone recognizing her until she could reveal herself on her own terms. Easily detecting her hesitance, Ontari laughed. “Scared of facing your past, Klark?”  _Not scared, I just don’t want the Commander to ruin what I have here._ She didn’t voice the thought, though, and instead made a face at Ontari and stood up, shoving a fistful of snow down the back of her shirt before Ontari could react. “Scared? Never.”

Ontari let out a very undignified squawk as the freezing snow slid down her back and turned towards Klark in outrage. In a single movement, she quickly shook the snow out of the back of her shirt while simultaneously bending down to grab her own fistful of the white powder so quickly that Klark had barely made it ten feet from the General before her back was attacked by a barrage of snowballs. “ _Ack_!  What the  _hell_ , Ontari?! I only hit you with one!” Followed by Atlas, a very satisfied looking Ontari walked past her down the snow covered hill and it took all of Klark’s willpower to refrain from starting a full scale snowball fight. Now that they were within sight of the city guards, they couldn’t draw attention to themselves. And a snow battle would certainly do just that.

Though Klark didn’t like it, Ontari was right. Now  _was_ the best time to enter the city. The Commander would be meeting with Queen Nia right now, and Klark did not know how fast the confrontation would be. Long, hopefully. As long as the Commander did not return from her meeting with Nia until after they made it past her gonas, they would be fine. None of her gonas would recognize Klark after so long. And though the Commander’s gonas would be setting up their camp right by the entrance, any person who  _might_ recognize Klark would never expect to see her in Anolia. Or at all, since Klark was thought to be dead by the entirety of the coalition. Other than the Commander, there should be nobody in Azgeda that might recognize her. So as long as they avoided her today, Klark would be fine. 

They set off towards Anolia at an easy pace. Though she wanted to go faster, running towards the capitol at full speed would send the wrong message. “Don’t look so worried. None of them will give you a second glance.” She hoped so, but Klark’s position  _did_ have a tendency to draw unwanted attention to her. “I’m the High General, Ontari. People are going to cheer for my return.” Ontari dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand as they ran, neither of them winded in the slightest as they neared the high walls of the capitol. “The Commander’s gonas don’t know that you’re the High General. Put on your hood and we can pretend they are just cheering for my arrival.” A good idea. Klark had been planning to do something like that so she nodded, concealing any trace of nerves as they approached the wall.

The gonas on guard had been waiting for them to get close enough to open the gates, the wolf by her side making it clear who, exactly, was returning to the city, and the gates had opened immediately upon their arrival. Before one of the gonas could even make a move towards the bell that announced her arrival to the city, Klark simply shook her head and he stepped away from it. She did not want any of the Commander’s gonas’ attention drawn to herself, and the bell was the perfect way to do just that. 

As they entered the city, Klark pulled her hood up to cover her hair and part of her face. And as they walked casually up the street towards the castle, she could see that there were a few newly built tents by the wall, fires already sending out waves of heat towards the gonas crowded around them, each of them covered in enough snow to make her wonder if they had been rolling in it. But there was one person who stood out to her, a person that looked like she didn’t belong. Possibly because she was wearing enough clothes to fit five people, which was very strange considering that it was not even that cold today. Standing beside her was another woman, though she fit in far better with the Trikru gonas. But there was something about the two of them that-  _ oh .  Oh fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. It’s Raven and Octavia. _

Her heart stopped at the realization and Klark stared at them for a beat too long, drawing the attention of Ontari. Their eyes met for a brief moment before they came to a wordless decision to walk faster. Klark and Ontari picked up their pace and she glanced back at the tents one final time, hoping that they hadn’t noticed her. But before Klark had fully turned away from the sight of the two Skaikru girls standing together, Octavia met her eyes. 

It was as if the world had stopped moving.  Fuck . Klark immediately tore her gaze away from Octavia’s, hoping desperately that she hadn’t recognized her. But something told Klark that her hopes were in vain. Even if it had been three years since Octavia had last seen her, Klark had detected a hint of recognition in her expression before she had turned away. She glanced at Ontari, eyes widening in slight panic. But as people started to bow to them, easily recognizing her by Atlas’s presence, Ontari simply asked, “did she see you?” Klark nodded slightly, the wind tugging at her hood insistently. “I think so. But I don’t know if she recognized me or not.” It felt like a lie, though Klark truly had no idea if Octavia had recognized her or not. 

But as they walked at an agonizingly slow pace through the crowds, Klark felt the crawling sensation of eyes on the back of her head, watching her. 

* * *

**Raven**

Raven was finally warming up by the fire when Octavia spoke, disrupting the comfortable silence that hung between them. But unlike normal, her voice held an unsure tremor as she spoke. “Um Raven?” Octavia asked hesitantly, “do I see Clarke over there, or am I going crazy?” Raven sighed, not bothering to look up. This had happened before. When Clarke had left, there had been several times where they had both been wholly convinced that they had seen her. It was just their imaginations, they knew that now, but it still hurt. So Raven just continued to warm her hands as she responded with: “Octavia, we both know what happened every other time either of us have ‘ seen ’ Clarke.” A brief moment of hope, then a disappointed sadness that lingered for days. “She’s gone. It’s just another random person who vaguely looks like her.”

She heard Octavia sigh, then shuffle slightly closer to the fire. “I know, I know. You’re probably right, but I swear this one looks just like her.” She paused for a brief moment, then continued, her voice breaking slightly. “I just really want it to be her. For her to be alive. I hate that the last thing I ever said to her was that she wasn’t good enough. That she didn’t do enough for us. I was wrong, I know that now. And I just wish I could tell her, Raven.” Raven pressed her lips together tightly but looked up, deciding to humor Octavia, even if jumping to conclusions would hurt. But she was probably just seeing things. 

“Who are you talking about, Octavia?” She pointed at two people walking with a huge white dog, one of wearing a hood. It obviously wasn’t the woman with jet black hair, so she must be talking about the person wearing a hood. “How do you know? You can’t see their hair.” Behind Raven and Octavia, the Commander emerged from her newly built tent, pausing when she noticed that they were staring intently at something. She stopped beside them, probably curious as to what they were looking at, but they ignored her, concentrating on the person Octavia was sure was Clarke. “I saw her face!” Well, Raven was not about to chase after some random person, even if Octavia thought her face looked familiar. 

But as she started to turn away, a huge gust of freezing wind blew through the valley and as if in slow motion, the person’s hood was pushed down, revealing a shock of blonde hair that was braided back in a traditional grounder style. Her eyes widened and Octavia slowly turned towards her, mouth open in shock.  _She has blonde hair._ “Raven that’s-“  _No. Fucking. Way._ Raven’s knees weakened at the staggering realization and she stepped back slightly, eyes blown wide in shock as she exclaimed, “OH SHIT!”

The blonde paused for a second and looked behind her for the source of the sound, briefly meeting Ravens eyes before turning away and continuing to walk up the street. It had only been a brief moment, but they had all seen her face and there was no doubt that it was her, despite the distance between them. Beside her, the Commander was standing as still as a rock, looking as if she had seen a ghost. And for the first time, Raven saw a break in that stony facade as they watched Clarke walk away from them. And in the back of her mind, she vaguely realized that maybe - just maybe - the Arkers hadn’t been the only one affected by Clarke’s ‘death’. 

But that realization was not even remotely important to Raven as she and Octavia gaped at Clarke’s retreating form. Raven stood frozen, not breathing as she stared at the back of the very grounder looking Clarke. Clarke was alive.  _Alive. She’s alive_. So Raven ran for her, ignoring the pain in her leg as the brace cut into it, racing towards Clarke as fast as she could. She didn’t believe it,  _couldn’t_ believe it. Three years.  _Three years_ she had been here, letting them all think she was dead.

But she wasn’t. Clarke was right there. 

As she neared Clarke, her dog - wolf, more likely- immediately sensed her approaching and spun to face her, snarling in warning. Raven froze several paces from it, fear making her heart beat loud enough for her to hear. She stared down at the deceptively cute wolf, bracing herself for an attack. But he didn’t make a move towards her and just continued to growl as Clarke and the grounder beside her turned to face her, both equally as expressionless as the Commander. But her focus was on Clarke, who now had several purposeful looking scars on her face and icy blue eyes that were so much colder than she remembered. Raven stared at her in shock, not believing that this was real, that Clarke was here. Alive. 

Clarke did something with her hand as Raven stared at her speechlessly and the wolf’s entire demeanor changed, going from bloodthirsty killer to the adorable dog that she had imagined it being. She glanced down at it as it sniffed towards her, then brought her gaze up to meet Clarke’s. Clarke glanced at the grounder woman next to her before regarding Raven evenly, some of the cold fading from her eyes. 

“Hello, Raven.” Raven stared at Clarke in shock, mouth opening and shutting, unable to form a coherent sentence. “Wha- you... but.” Clarke glanced past her, probably looking at Octavia and the Commander who were doubtlessly approaching them. She clearly didn’t want to talk to the Commander - for obvious reasons - but surely Clarke could deal with her presence for long enough to explain why she had left them all behind. So that Raven could know why Clarke had never returned to them like she had promised. 

The grounder woman said something in her language and Klark responded in kind before turning back to Raven. “I have to go. But I believe that we will be seeing each other again soon enough.” Her gaze wearily flicked between Raven and the people approaching behind her as Raven finally managed to speak, “Clarke we thought you were dead!” She glanced at the woman beside her and pursed her lips, nodding in some wordless agreement before she replied. “I know, Raven. That was the point.” And then she walked away. She just walked away, leaving a speechless Raven behind, staring at their departing backs. 

Just seconds later, Octavia ran to her side and asked a barrage of questions, the Commander quickly following and doing the same. But Raven didn’t hear them. The world was swirling as her mind raced.  _Clarke’s alive. And she wanted us to think she was dead. Why? And why did she leave us if it wasn’t only because of Mount Weather?_ Unable to answer any of their questions through her racing thoughts, Raven just shook her head and watched Clarke get enveloped by the crowd, disappearing from view.

Raven fought against her burning desire to chase Clarke down and force her to answer her questions and dejectedly turned away from where Clarke had vanished. Both Octavia and the Commander had furrowed brows as they stared into the city, the entirely unexpected encounter having shocked them all. But neither of them made a move to go after her. Though all three of them clearly wanted to, chasing her down would draw unwanted attention to themselves, and it was apparent that Clarke had no desire to talk to them. At least not when the Commander was there. 

The roaring in her ears lessened and she finally heard Octavia’s voice and slowly looked in her direction. “What did she say?” As both she and the Commander regarded her with clear anticipation of news on Clarke, Raven just shook her head in disbelief, only managing to croak out a few words. “Nothing. Nothing except that I might see her again soon.” The Commander turned away in frustration, jaw clenched tightly as she walked back to her tent. A strange reaction for the usually emotionless Commander, but she disregarded it. Clarke had said that they would likely meet again soon and that is what she focused on. And as she followed the Commander back towards the tents, a single thought rang through her mind; a promise.

_Soon, Clarke._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally saw Atlas in action- a little bit, at least. But we will be seeing even more of the bloodthirsty yet adorable wolf in future chapters. I’m pretty exited to write about that lol. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought and thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

Present time: November 2152

**Lexa**

Lexa inhaled deeply, working her jaw as she paced her tent, mind racing far too quickly for her to sit down. Afternoon had not even fully come into bloom and yet Lexa’s day had already been far more eventful than most. Not only had she arrived in the capitol and confronted Nia about her plot to withhold the Azgeda army, but she had also discovered that Clarke was alive.  _Alive_ . That single word whispered through her mind, over and over and over again. She was  _alive_ . Three years of regret for once again causing the death of another girl that she cared for, and yet Clarke had been  _alive_ in  Azgeda  the entire time.

But before she dared to allow herself to think about the ghost from her past that had just made an appearance in the most unexpected way possible, Lexa knew she needed a plan to deal with Nia and the High General. So she pushed her thoughts of Clarke to the side in order to better concentrate; even as those thoughts were fighting with every fiber of their being to break free from the confines of the cage that she had created for them inside her mind. So Lexa struggled against the emotions that were likely written across her face until she prevailed against the wave of thoughts about Clarke - though with difficulty - and felt her emotionless countenance finally settle into place as she revisited her earlier encounter with Nia. 

Immediately upon their arrival to Anolia, Lexa had demanded an audience with the Queen. As Lexa was the one visiting, Nia did not dare to meet her in the throne room where the Queen would be looking down at her. Not when Nia knew that she had done something wrong. So they had instead met in the Generals meeting room. Without the High General present, Lexa had taken her chair, which was at least close to the same level as Nia’s. 

She had demanded that Nia summon her High General, not caring that she we currently in her seat, but the Queen had said that she was  _absent_ .  Ha . As if Lexa would believe that. The timing was far too convenient for the High General to simply be away from the city. And Nia had not elaborated; had not told her where the woman was or why she was not in Anolia when they had doubtlessly known that she was coming.

Nia had said that the High General would be prepared to meet with her tomorrow, and Lexa had reluctantly accepted her statement. The fact that Nia knew exactly when her High General would return made it quite clear that this was planned, but... tomorrow would suffice well enough. She wished to return to Polis as soon as possible, but now that she had seen Clarke, well, it would give Lexa more time to search for her in the city. Perhaps she was being selfish, but Lexa wanted to find the lost skai girl desperately. 

While she had originally only agreed with Nia because she’d had no other options, Lexa no longer minded waiting one more day if that gave her the extra time to search for Clarke.  _And prepare to meet with the High General_ _,_ she supposed, but Lexa knew what truly held her focus.

‘ _Concentrate, Lexa. You know your duty. And your duty is not her’_ . She gritted her teeth as the voice of her Fleimkepa echoed through her mind, repeating the words she had been told so many times, about both Clarke and Costia. Lexa refused to succumb to the wave of emotions that rose in her. For once, imaginary Titus was right. Lexa could develop a plan to search for Clarke soon enough, but the High General  had to be her focus. So she narrowed her eyes, evading the thoughts of Clarke as she went over what she knew of the woman.

As she had only dealt with Pahn in the past, Lexa did not know what to expect. Especially since Azgeda was the only clan with the High General position. While the rest of the clans had the control of their armies split equally between each General, the High General of Azgeda controlled every single gona in the clan. And though there were still Generals, they each answered to the High General. 

It took years of intense training to reach the position, and whoever it was must be incredibly skilled to have beaten Pahn, who had been one of the strongest warriors in the coalition. As for physical attributes... well, she truly had no idea. The High Generals army had not left any Raiders alive, and therefore no Raiders to question. Nobody from the other clans had ever seen her, either, so her appearance was a complete mystery.  _Oh, wait_. The three Raider children  had mentioned that she had very blue eyes and dyed her hair red, but that information was not of any real use to her. Hair and eyes were not the features that she cared about. She wanted to know her strengths 

The High General was an enigma, and one she was looking forward to solving. Once Lexa found her weaknesses, as she did with everyone, she would be able to easily predict her movements and therefore manipulate her into following orders. She had done that with Pahn, and while Lexa had very little knowledge of the woman, she assumed that the High General would be similar to him: difficult to work with and always trying to undermine her. So she would be prepared for that going into their meeting. Lexa would not be caught off guard.

* * *

Once she had left the castle and reached her newly built tent, it had only been minutes before she had heard Raven and Octavia discussing something in hushed whispers. Unknowing of the ghost from her past that would soon be making an appearance, Lexa had exited her tent to stand beside them. They had not greeted her as formality demanded - ignored her, actually - and she might have,  _would_ have reprimanded them had she not heard who they were talking about. 

And so she had followed their eyes to the subject of their focus: a hooded woman walking beside another woman and a large white wolf. She hadn’t known that people in Azgeda kept wolves as pets, but that thought did not linger in her mind as the wind gusted through the city, blowing the woman’s hood down and revealing long blonde hair. Lexa had stilled, eyes narrowed at the familiar hair color. Then upon hearing Raven’s loud exclamation, the blonde figure had turned back just enough for them to see her face and Lexa had frozen in shock at the sight of the girl they had all thought to be dead. 

They had stood there in a shocked silence for a few long seconds, watching Clarke and the woman beside her get  _bowed_ to as they walked away.  _The woman must have been important_ _._ But it was not until Raven had burst into a run, shattering whatever bubble that had kept them in place, that she managed to move. But Lexa hadn’t been able to sprint - not with people watching her - so she had been forced to watch Raven catch up with Clarke from a distance. She had seen the wolf turn and snarl at the skai girl, but stop immediately upon some unspoken command. And Clarke’s eyes had flicked between Raven and herself as she spoke a few words, never meeting Lexa’s eyes, but enough times to tell that she was gauging the distance between them.

But before Lexa had gotten to them, Clarke had left, moving far faster than before, and had been enveloped in the crowd before Lexa could even make a move to go after her. She had been so close to catching Clarke, too. If Clarke had not left for a few more seconds, Lexa would have been able to stop her from leaving. But she had, and Lexa had only been left with a few glances and whatever she had said to Raven. 

But that had been disappointing as well, because once Raven had recovered slightly from seeing her friend that she had thought to be dead, Lexa had discovered that Clarke had said almost nothing. All she had said to Raven was that they would be seeing each other soon. Nothing else. So Lexa had turned around and swiftly returned to her tent, emotions about to explode as she began her pacing. 

* * *

Once she had gone over the events of the morning, the weak cage that she’d held her emotions in immediately snapped and she nearly fell to the ground under the immense pressure. She managed to stumble to her bed, but she was powerless to stop her expressionless mask from crumbling as they poured in. Perhaps love was not always weakness, but this? This was. This was by far the weakest she had felt since Costia had been killed. 

Thinking Clarke had been dead and that her death was Lexa’s fault had been torturous enough, but to find that Clarke was  _alive_ and in  _Azgeda_ of all places... That meant she hadn’t searched hard enough. That she hadn’t done enough to find her. That Clarke had abandoned her people forever, unable to face them, and Lexa hadn’t been able to help her. Betraying Clarke had been her greatest regret three years ago, but now... now it was so much worse. Not only had Lexa failed Clarke, she was in  _Anolia_ . She was so,  so close to the Queen that would do anything to claim her power.

Lexa didn’t know how Nia was unaware that she had Wanheda within her grasp, but it was extremely fortunate. She knew that if Nia knew who Clarke was, then she undoubtedly would have gloated about claiming her power. About killing her. Yet somehow, someway, Clarke hadn’t been found. She couldn’t have been, because if Lexa knew anything, she knew Nia. And for all her plotting and scheming, the Queen would have never hid that she had control over Wanheda. Nor decide against claiming Clarke’s power for herself. Nia would have doubtlessly already killed her to take the power of Wanheda. And even if she hadn’t, Nia  _certainly_ would have never allowed Clarke to walk free like she had done today. No, Lexa was sure that Nia didn’t know. She would just have to find Clarke and take her back with them to ensure that Wanheda didn’t fall into the hands of the Ice Queen. Even if Clarke didn’t want to go back to her people, it would be for her safety.

Unfortunately, finding Clarke had been a problem. She had already ordered her gonas to discreetly search for her throughout the city, but to no avail. And as much as she herself wanted to tear Anolia apart to look for Clarke, she could not do that. She just had to hope that the skai girl would not be discovered by Nia until they found her, though if she had been here for all three years, it was unlikely that the Queen would ever discover that she had Wanheda in her city. 

Though it made little difference, Clarke  _had_ told Raven that they would see each other soon, so perhaps she could keep her gonas around the skai girl at all times so she could apprehend Clarke before they left. Lexa sighed. It was her best option, but it was extremely unlikely that anything would come of it. There was no way that Clarke had the means to access Raven without alerting the gonas around them, so Lexa had no idea how Clarke planned to talk to her. And since it was clear that Clarke was avoiding  _her_ \- not without reason, she supposed, but it was incredibly irritating - it would be difficult for Lexa to intercept any form of communication. Especially without alerting Clarke to her actions.

But despite the difficulty of her self given task, it was necessary. Clarke being alive changed everything, and bringing her back to Polis was now of the upmost importance. Not only for the good of the coalition and her protection, but if Lexa was being honest, it was for selfish reasons as well. The Ice Queen having a claim on Wanheda would do nobody any good, and Clarke would be far safer in Polis. Or with her people, she supposed, but she would have more of an impact in Polis. 

And, yes, Clarke might be happy here, somehow; content with the constant cold and the evil Queen that reigned over the clan. But Anolia was far too dangerous a home for a Skai girl. And for Wanheda? It was death waiting to happen. 

They would likely be in Anolia for several more nights in order for the army to get assembled, giving her a small amount of time to search for Clarke while she waited for the High General to prepare her army. It was not much, but it would have to be enough. She could not let Nia get her hands on Clarke. 

* * *

**Raven**

Raven sighed, setting down the radio that she had been holding for the past hour. How could she possibly explain to Abby that her daughter was alive and well in the Ice Nation? After much deliberation, she had come to a simple conclusion: she couldn’t.

She flicked the switch on the radio, turning it off. Abby would have to wait to find out that Clarke was alive. Trying to communicate from this distance was already hard enough, and telling Abby that her daughter was not dead was something better saved for in person. Especially since Raven knew that she would freak out. Which was not surprising, considering that her daughter had been thought dead for years. 

It would be best if she was there to prove that she was indeed alive, but Clarke didn’t seem very inclined to come back. In fact, she had not even seemed very happy to see Raven, which was surprising because Raven was awesome. 

Maybe the way Clarke had acted during their reunion had hurt her feelings slightly. And sure, Clarke hadn’t expected to see them in the city, but she had barely even spoken to Raven and she had been gone for three  _years_ . Raven could tell that there was some unfinished business between Clarke and the Commander, but surely she could have dealt with her presence for long enough to just  _explain_ . Explain why she had left and why she hadn’t come back. But she hadn’t. Clarke had left after less than a minute, leaving only an almost-promise that they would ‘see each other soon enough,’

Raven could tell that Clarke had changed while she had been here, and if that hadn’t already been made obvious by her facial scars and apparent skill with knives - based on the twin blades strapped to her thighs - her eyes had said it all. They had been so  _cold_ . But no matter the changes, the Clarke she had known had been a good person, always trying to save them - usually from themselves. And she had always kept her promises. Raven hoped that the last one had not changed, because that was all she was clinging to: a hope that she would see Clarke again.

If Clarke followed through with her promise that they would talk again soon, she could finally get answers. Raven didn’t know how Clarke would get to her without the Commander knowing, or if she even would try, but she hoped so. And if that encounter managed to last longer than their first one, then Raven would do her best to convince her to come home. 

But... she had seen Anolia and it was easy to understood why Clarke would want to stay somewhere so beautiful. With its cold metal and high unforgiving walls, Arkadia was a far cry from the beautiful city that they were in. Honestly, if it weren’t for the horrifyingly cold weather and the fact that the Ice Nation was considered to be evil, Raven would not mind living here either. 

Raven shivered as she felt a whisper of a breeze hit her back and stood up, about to shut the tent flap even tighter to keep the cold out. She could have sworn that she had done that already, but wind didn’t just come from nowhere. As she approached, she realized that it was already fully closed. _Strange. Maybe I imagined it_ _._ But then she saw it: a folded piece of parchment on her table that she knew hadn’t been there before. _What the hell?_ Raven knew that it hadn’t been one of her guards who had delivered the note. They always announced their presence. So that meant... that meant that it had been someone else. She reached for the note, vaguely concerned how whoever had delivered it had managed to get by her guards that easily.

As she lifted the note, Raven noticed that the paper was slightly wrinkled, as if it had been shoved into someone’s pocket. That did not matter, so she quickly flipped it open and scanned the lines of writing. Her eyes widened and she looked around her tent furtively, verifying that she was alone before sitting down and reading the scribbled text once more.

_R,_ _There is a tavern midway up the main street on the right. I will be there at dusk. Bring O if you can, but do not speak of it to the Commander. I will know if you do and I will leave. Klark._

This was excellent. She would find a way to tell Octavia and then they could see Clarke. She would just have to find a way to do that without the Commander overhearing. Raven would go to Octavia’s tent and tell her once she was sure that Indra was not in there as well. Octavia would kill her if she didn’t get the chance to come with her. 

Raven looked back down at the note and read it again. But this time, she noticed something strange. Clarke had spelled her name with a _‘_ _K’_ . There was no doubt that she had been the one to write the note, but still...

Klark?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lexa is so wrong about everything and I love it. She could never imagine that Clarke is the High General but... well she is clearly wrong. *cue evil laugh*
> 
> Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!


	15. Chapter 15

Present time: November 2152

** Klark **

Klark and Ontari watched Raven casually walk into Octavia’s tent from where they were perched on the roof of a nearby building, hidden from everyone below them by a tall chimney. Raven had timed her movement well; it was almost dusk and Indra had left several minutes ago. Klark figured that Raven had been waiting for the General to leave for a while now, as it had been several hours since she had she had delivered the note and Indra had been with Octavia the entire time.

A few minutes passed as they alertly observed the Commander’s camp, waiting for Raven to reappear. They had to be absolutely certain that their meeting had not been exposed before Klark could make herself known. It was of upmost importance that the Commander did not see Klark until tomorrow, or Nia’s plan would be ruined. 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Klark glanced at Ontari for a moment before shaking her head and looking back towards the camp. “No. It’s an awful idea. I should not be risking the Queen’s plan. But-“ Klark sighed slightly, annoyed with herself. “It will be easier to talk when they do not yet see me as the High General.” Judgment was really not the most important thing. She truly didn’t care what they would think of her, but High General Klark  _did_ have a violent history and it would be easier to talk without them questioning her for that too.

So they would talk before her position was announced, because she would not be able to waste time on them once it was. “And, I will be far too busy preparing my army to waste time talking with them in the coming days, then I will be too busy planning a war once we join the rest of the coalition, so now is the best time. Unfortunately, I promised Raven that we would talk soon, so it has to be done.” And Klark didn’t break her word, unlike the woman they were currently avoiding. She was better than that.

Klark watched over the camp as Ontari nodded thoughtfully before she turned towards Klark again, a small smirk lighting her features as she looked at her innocently. “Remind me again why you promised that?” Klark threw a rock at her head, which she easily dodged. “Bitch!” She already knew that it had been an accident. Ontari laughed quietly and turned back to look over the nearby camp. 

Both comfortable on the snow covered rooftop, they sat in an easy silence for several more minutes until there was finally movement below them. Klark sat up and watched Raven and Octavia walk out of the tent, heading towards the city together. But it seemed that luck was not on their side, and before they could leave the camp, the Commander stepped out of her tent and asked them something.  _Shit_ . They only spoke for a few seconds before Raven and Octavia set off up the street, leaving her to watch them walk away for a moment before she turned and reentered her tent. Klark didn’t know if the Commander knew anything, but she couldn’t risk Nia’s plan by not being careful. She had to be sure.

So Klark turned to Ontari as she started moving towards the edge of the roof. “You shadow them and I will meet you at the tavern?” Ontari nodded and slipped off the roof in one lithe movement, Klark following close behind her. They split up at the end of the building, Klark taking the path around the city in the direction of the tavern and Ontari creeping in the direction of the street. Though Klark was fully capable of shadowing the Skaikru girls herself, Ontari had a lifetime of training that put her at a higher level. Klark could acknowledge as much, though she would never admit it out loud; Ontari was still better than her. But she knew that thought didn’t matter as she quickly walked to the tavern after flicking her hood up, not wanting anyone to recognize her. 

After a brief walk through the snow covered path between the wall and the city, Klark turned onto the street and arrived at a large building with several frost lined windows. She took the final steps towards the tavern and pushed the heavy door open, stepping into the warm building that was almost entirely filled with people.  _Perfect_ . Klark had chosen it as a meeting spot for this exact reason: its large size and the considerable amount of people that went there in the evenings. The rowdy atmosphere and tables already filled with people talking loudly made for the perfect place for a discreet meeting, and the lanterns that hung in the rafters above them lit the tavern enough to see well by.

Klark did not sit at any of the long tables that furnished the tavern, and instead found a spot out of direct sight of the door and leaned against the wall, ignoring the two men that were passionately making out next to her. She was used to such a sight by now. Klark had once found the public displays of affection strange, as it had been unusual with the Skaikru, but she had quickly discovered that it was a common thing. _Especially_ in the taverns. And, so, nobody ever paid those people any attention and instead busied themselves with the ale and the flowing conversation around them. And despite the strange appeal, Klark  _did_ somewhat pride herself in the fact that she had never lowered herself to that level, instead keeping her romantic affairs private. But it was unimportant. Klark was busy with something far more significant than the thought of her life after hours.

Klark reverted her gaze back to the door, waiting for only a minute before Ontari came in, also wearing a hood to block her face. Nobody took any notice of her as she glanced around the room before walking towards Klark, matching her position against the wall. “I heard them talking,” she murmured quietly, “They didn’t tell her anything.”  Good . She nodded absently, gaze drifting to the door as they waited for the two skai girls to walk in. They wouldn’t be far very behind Ontari, no matter how fast she had been walking. 

And, just as she had predicted, the door opened a minute later and the two skai girls stepped in, pausing as they took in the crowded tavern. Fortunately, neither of them had worn clothes that were clearly of Trikru or Skaikru origin - just simple clothing that could be found in any clan - so nobody gave them a second glance. Klark watched them look around in slight awe, taking in the crowded tavern, before Raven leaned to the side and whispered something to Octavia, leading her to an open table by one of the frost-covered windows. They sat beside each other, discreetly looking around the tavern. Searching for her. It was time. 

Klark shifted to face Ontari, a wordless agreement passing between them; Klark would speak to the Skaikru girls and Ontari would look out for any of the Commander’s gonas. Klark could have ordered one of her own gonas to do it, but Ontari had agreed and it was easier this way. She knew the full story. So Klark murmured a quick “thank you” to her friend before pushing away from the wall and striding across the tavern to where Raven and Octavia were seated, easily slipping through the crowds of people now that she was unrecognizable to them with her hair hidden. 

Klark quickly arrived at the table and slid smoothly into the stool across from them, bracing her forearms on the wooden table. They both jolted, gaping at her for a long second, twin expressions of surprise across their faces. They hadn’t expected her to actually come. Klark looked at the two women that she had once called friends, both of who trembled slightly, but not with fear. Shock probably, given the fact that they had thought she was dead for years until her appearance a few hours ago. 

“Clarke!” Octavia exclaimed, breaking the short moment of silence between them in a louder fashion than she would have liked. But Klark didn’t say anything about it and quirked her lip slightly at their shocked expressions. “Hello Octavia, Raven. It’s been a while.” There was a pause as they both gawked at her, then Raven began to speak, a barrage of questions flying out of her mouth at a shocking speed. 

“A while?! Where have you  _been?!_ ”  Raven hissed furiously, voice quiet enough that nobody paid them any attention. “I know what happened at the mountain hurt you but it’s been _three years_ ,  Clarke!  Why didn’t you come back? Everyone thinks you’re dead. Everyone! The entire  coalition was searching for you, and what, have you been in the Ice Nation this whole time? How the hell did you even  get here!? It’s hundreds of miles from Arkadia!”

She paused, sucking in a deep breath in preparation to continue her rant, but was interrupted by Klark. “Arkadia?” Raven looked at her incredulously. “ _Really?_ That’s what you’re focusing on!? Yes, Clarke. They changed it to Arkadia since Jaha was alive back then.” It was strange to hear her name pronounced like that again, but instead of correcting Raven, she narrowed her eyes slightly at the word she had used to describe the former chancellor. _Back then._ _Is Jaha dead?_

Octavia must have seen the question in her eyes because she added onto Raven’s response. “He died on his crazy mission to find the _‘City of Light’_ or whatever it was called. Everyone who went with him did, actually. Well, except Murphy. He’s fine, somehow. Still alive. He-  _umph!_ ” Raven elbowed Octavia in the side to get her to be quiet before turning back to Klark. “Jaha is dead, but I know you don’t care about him after this long. So answer the damn questions.”  _Well, she hasn’t changed one bit._ Klark’s gonas would have been whipped for talking to her like that, but Raven did not know who, exactly, she was talking to yet, so Klark let it slide. This time. It would not be allowed in the future once everyone knew of her position.

“My time in Anolia is a very long story, and one that we don’t have nearly enough time for.” In fact, they really only had a few minutes before Klark and Ontari would have to leave. “But,” she raised a finger, stopping Raven from interrupting her. “Yes, I was here entire time. Trained in the army for a while, learned how to fight, and moved on from everything that happened when we first got to earth.” That hinted that she wasn’t In the army anymore, which,  _technically_ , she wasn’t. Klark was in charge of the army; but they couldn’t know that yet. Not until tomorrow.

She didn’t have the time nor the care to list all the harsh reasons of why she hadn’t returned to the Skaikru, so Klark stuck with the simplest version of the truth: “And, Raven, I didn’t go back to  _Arkadia_ because Azgeda is my home now. I’m sure you can see why I like it far better here.” Klark made a vague gesture towards the frost covered window that blocked the view of the beautiful city as she quickly glanced towards where Ontari was on the lookout for the Commander’s gonas. Their eyes met and Ontari nodded once.  _All clear._ She nodded back at her discreetly before shifting her gaze back towards Raven and added, “And its Klark now.”

Both girls stared at her for a second before Raven spoke again, less aggressively this time. “ _Klark_ ...” she paused, looking resigned. “Damn, you’ve become more of a grounder than Octavia. I take it you don’t want to come back with us?” Klark shook her head. “I’m not going back, Raven. Well... not to stay, at least.” She  _would_ be going back with them, but not in the way they wanted. Or the way that they’d expect. But, again, they couldn’t know that yet. There wasn’t much they  _could_ know, really, as it was important for her position to remain a secret. But this had been the only time they could talk, and since she had - rather foolishly - told Raven that they would talk soon, Klark had figured that this was better than nothing.

Octavia leaned forward, looking interested in whatever she was about to say. “The rest of the Arkers are going to be  _pissed_ when they find out that you’re alive.”  _Probably_ . Klark shrugged. She didn’t care what they thought anymore; Klark had moved past that. Octavia pressed her lips into a small smile, a tinge of sadness in her eyes. “You really  _have_ moved on from us. Well, Klark kom Azgeda, what is it like here? I have only heard horrible things, but...” she looked around the boisterous tavern appreciatively. “It’s not what I imagined.”

Surprised that Octavia had accepted everything so quickly, Klark leaned back in her chair as she began to speak; “Every bad thing you have heard is based on the Azgeda army, and those rumors are almost entirely accurate. Azgeda is known as the most bloodthirsty clan for a reason.” Her army could be _very_ vicious . It’s what made them the strongest. “But as you can see, the ordinary citizens are not very different than those from any of the other clans. They-“ Klark stopped speaking as Ontari made a swirling gesture with her hand. The signal.

Klark quickly stood up from the table and walked around it to where Raven and Octavia were looking at her confusedly. “Come on. The Commander’s gonas are coming.” They both got up far too slowly for her liking so she just grabbed their shoulders and pushed them through the crowd towards the door. Octavia looked back at her as she herded them through the tavern. “How do you know they’re coming? You were with us the whole time.” They were close to the door, and Klark absently said “my lookout told me”, focused on getting the two skai girls away from her. Klark could not risk the gonas seeing her. 

“You had someone on lookout for you!?” Klark shrugged, pushing them towards the door. “She’s a friend. Here-“ Klark grabbed two tankards of ale off a table and shoved them into the girls’ arms. “Go. You got a drink and are now returning to your camp. If they ask, you did not see me. Got it?” When they both nodded, Klark ignored their protests and practically shoved them out of the door, closing it quickly behind them. She stepped away from the door, ignoring anyone who looked her way. Klark may have been acting strange, but they didn’t recognize her - not with her most distinguishable feature still covered by her hood.

Once she was no longer the subject of anyone’s attention, Klark joined Ontari by the front window, where she had rubbed away some of the frost in order to see through it. Klark leaned closer and looked through the small space, watching Raven and Octavia walk away from the tavern just as two of the Commander’s gonas neared it. The men stopped them and they spoke for a minute, gesturing at their drinks. One of the gonas finally nodded to whatever they were saying and the two girls continued down the road. But instead of following them back to their camp, the gonas continued to walk towards the tavern.

Klark knew that they weren’t just coming in for drinks, not at a place like this. They were following orders; probably the same ones that had the Commander’s gonas discreetly looking around the streets of Anolia. Searching for her, she assumed. But no matter what they were doing here, the gonas were getting closer and closer. Klark and Ontari glanced at each other, both aware of the fact that they couldn’t get to the other exit fast enough. Not without running, which would draw unwanted attention to them.  _Shit_ . They were stuck in here.

* * *

As the Commander’s gonas entered the tavern, the loud chatter diminished slightly as the customers sent not-so-discreet glances their way. But the gonas paid no attention to the whispers as they walked through the crowd, glancing around in a seemingly inconspicuous manner. But Klark knew better, and she had to duck behind a rather large man to avoid one of such glances.  _Shit_ . She looked around the tavern for a way out, but to no avail.

Klark and Ontari hadn’t been able to leave fast enough to avoid the gonas, and now they were stuck; the gonas too close to the main door for them to leave that way without being seen, and the other exit too far a distance for them to travel without looking suspicious. Even worse, the crowds wouldn’t continue to hide them for long with the gonas moving around the tavern. She and Ontari exchanged another glance, concerned. They both knew that Nia’s power play relied on keeping Klark’s status as High General a secret until tomorrow, and the Commander’s gonas put that in jeopardy. They needed an idea, and they needed one fast. 

With the crowd blocking them from the gonas’ sight for the moment, Klark and Ontari stood by the front window of the tavern, unsure of what to do. Well, Klark was unsure, but Ontari? She narrowed her eyes. Ontari looked as if she had an idea, and Klark couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “You have an idea?” Ontari nodded somewhat hesitantly, which was beyond strange because she was never hesitant about anything. But Klark didn’t care; if Ontari had an idea then she would take it. Anything to keep them from being discovered. “I hope it’s a good one because we’re doing it.” Ontari glanced back towards the gonas, who were starting to move in their direction, before looking back at Klark andnodding, hesitance gone. 

“Come here.” Ontari quickly pulled her to the nearby corner of the room, only a few paces from where they had been standing by the window, and pushed a few people out of the way, ignoring their complaints. She forced Klark to stand by the wall, which she did so somewhat reluctantly in her confusion, but didn’t fight her on it.  _What is her plan? They are going to see us soon._ Ontari glanced back at the gonas, one of whose eyes drifted dangerously close to them, before facing Klark once more. Klark had to look up at her slightly, their small height difference much clearer when they were standing this close.

Ontari glanced at the gonas one final time before she turned back and smirked down at her slightly. “Short ass.” Before Klark could respond with the ‘bitch’ that was at the tip of her tongue, Ontari stepped even closer and Klark paused in confusion. But before she could speak, Ontari’s gaze locked on her lips and Klark felt her eyes widen slightly in realization.  _Oh she’s-_ her thought was interrupted as Ontari murmured, “Go along with it” before roughly shoving Klark into the corner and capturing her lips with her own.  


Klark’s mind went blank as Ontari kissed her intensely, pinning her into the corner with her full body. She froze for a second, a small sound slipping out from the back of her throat before she responded, lips moving quickly as she pulled Ontari even closer, their bodies molding together against the wall. Ontari tilted her chin up, deepening the kiss, and Klark’s hand found her hair as their tongues engaged in a sensuous dance, the unbraided strands soft and silky as they slid through her fingers. 

Their hands roved over each other in a fight for dominance over the kiss, Klark not about to let Ontari take control without a fight, even if she was already the one pinned against the wall. That was for practical reasons, obviously. She bit back a moan as Ontari’s hands slipped under the bottom of her shirt, cold fingers brushing over the sensitive skin of her lower back. Pressed firmly against the wall in a manner that hid her from everyone, Klark held onto Ontari’s neck tightly as they continued to move together, lips hardly separating as they created a scene so uncomfortable to witness that nobody dared to approach them. 

* * *

The noise of the tavern increased as the door shut behind the gonas, and Ontari pulled away, both of them panting slightly. Klark stepped away from the corner and raised an eyebrow, smirking at Ontari, whose face was flushed similarly to hers. “Shut up.” She hissed, though Klark hadn’t said anything. “It worked, didn’t it?” Honestly, it had been a brilliant idea but she didn’t say that and Klark smirked at her teasingly instead. “How long have you been wanting to do that?” Ontari flushed even brighter and Klark snorted. She looked like a tomato. 

Klark leaned forward until their noses were almost touching and whispered flirtatiously, “Hm. Don’t worry, I understand the appeal.” Ontari growled and swatted at her, and Klark cackled as she spun away, not caring that she hadn’t managed to avoid the hit. It was worth it. But unfortunately, as much fun as tormenting Ontari was, they did have to get back to the castle. 

So she relented, smiling at her innocently. “They’re gone. We can leave now.” Ontari scowled at her, and started walking towards the back door. “I hate you.” Klark laughed at that, easily catching up to her. “You’ve tried that before, and now look at us.” Ontari snorted, not bothering to refute the statement. They both knew it was true. “Whatever, let’s go.” 

With nobody paying any attention to the tavern-goers anymore, they easily walked out of the building and into the back alley, avoiding the main street in case there was anyone there who might recognize her. 

They made their way back to the castle, Klark mentally berating herself for getting them into that situation. She had decided to honor her promise to Raven and it had gone badly, almost ruining Nia’s plan for tomorrow. The Commander had been clever - she could say as much - and Klark hadn’t expected the gonas to search for her where the skai girls had been as well. She had somehow guessed that they would never leave the camp unless they had a good reason, then had her gonas go to the tavern after them. It had only been pure luck that they hadn’t arrived any sooner.

She knew the Commander was smart, had seen it first hand all those years ago, and Klark didn’t know why she had expected any less. She would not underestimate the woman again, even if they would be marching on the same side of the war. She knew very well that betrayal could happen to even the best of allies, and Klark would not be so quick to trust her this time. She knew better than that now.

* * *

Klark’s warpaint was still wet on her face as she and Roan walked down the street towards the Commander’s large tent, neither of them eager for this meeting. Roan would be acting as her guard, even though she did not truly need one. But the Queen had insisted, convinced that having the Prince of Azgeda acting as a guard and announcer for her would make Klark seem even more powerful. And perhaps she was right, but not even having Roan by her side made Klark feel better about this; they were going to war again - just days after she had returned from her most recent attack on the Raiders - and this meeting made that all the more real.

They stopped a few paces from the entrance, regarding the guards with practiced emotionlessness. Klark merely raised an eyebrow expectantly as their eyes widened in clear recognition. They knew exactly who she was, and now they knew who she had become. Wanheda. High General of Azgeda. The gonas glanced at each other, pausing for a moment before one of them opened the tent and stepped aside to allow them entry, watching them wearily. 

They stepped into the tent and Klark was struck by how similar it was to the one from the war. It was as if the only thing that had changed in the past three years was her. Not the tent, not the gonas or the general standing in the corner, not even the woman sitting on the throne, looking down at Roan with a raised chin. “Prince Roan.” Klark remained in the shadow of the entrance as Roan walked forward and bowed his head. “Heda, I present to you High General Klark kom Azgeda, Wanheda, and first in line to the throne.”

Klark stepped out of the shadows as Roan exited the tent, inclining her head in a mocking deference to the stone-still woman on the throne. “Hello  _Commander_.  It is  _so very good_ to see you again”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eheheheheheh  
> So Klark and Ontari kissed... Don’t hate me, we gotta make Lexa jealous somehow. And don’t worry, Clexa is endgame but it’s so much more interesting this way. *cue evil laugh*. But Clexa reunion next episode! And Lexa is still a bad b as always, so don’t worry. Clarke being alive just hit her a little hard 🤷🏻
> 
> And sorry this chapter took so long to post. I had a huge amount of schoolwork before break so I couldn’t work on this for a few days.
> 
> So yeah! Let me know what you think, and happy holidays everyone!


	16. Chapter 16

Present time: November 2152

**Lexa**

She couldn't move. 

She couldn't speak; couldn't avert her eyes from the terrible truth that stood before her. 

Though she had fully expected something to go wrong with her trip to Azgeda, Lexa had never - _could have_ never - expected this. This was an outcome so unimaginable, so _impossible_ that she was having difficulty comprehending what she was seeing.   


Lexa had been fully prepared for some sort of scheme or plot to undermine her position. Had been entirely expecting one, in fact, even as she had foolishly hoped that her day would be uneventful; that her meeting with the High General would go smoothly, that she could collect her army, find Clarke, and get back to Polis quickly to plan for the possible war. She had known full well that it was an impossible dream. Lexa’s entire life had taught her that nothing ever came that easily. 

But against all odds, her morning  had been uneventful. There was no attack on her camp, no unexpected news or changes, and no sign of Clarke. And though disappointed by the later, Lexa had been too focused on her approaching meeting with the High General to give Clarke much thought. She had expected to have time for that after the event. 

But she didn’t. 

Lexa was looking at Clarke right now. She was right there, facing Lexa with an expression so confidant, so self-assured that Lexa froze, not knowing what to expect from her. Clarke was different than before. So different that it was immedietly clear that this was not the innocent skai girl that she had known. 

The hardened features and cold smirk that twisted her face were a far cry from her once gentle appearance, and the scars that cut across her cheeks clearly marked her as an Azgeda warrior. But it was the jagged white lines of warpaint that made everything stand out, drawn across her face like a panther’s claw mark; unrefined, brutal, and entirely Azgeda. It was frightening how well it suited her. 

Pushing through her shock, she took in the details quickly as she stared down at Clarke.  _High General_ Clarke. Prince Roan had said that she was the High General, had  _announced_ her, even, which was strange in its own right. But despite the fact that the Prince of Azgeda had been the one to announce her, Lexa had a different focus. How had a skai girl with no prior training become the High General of the most brutal and bloodthirsty clan in the coalition? And in less than two years, at that. It made no sense.

But then Clarke had said  _that_ , momentarily halting any further thought on the subject. And the way she had said it- so coldly, so sarcastically, so  _insolently_ \- Lexa knew for certain that this was not the girl she had left behind at the Mountain. Clarke had changed, and not necessarily for the better.

* * *

Clarke raised an eyebrow and Lexa tensed slightly, realizing that she had let the silence in the tent linger for a beat too long. She opened her mouth to say something,  _anything_ to dispel the heavy silence that hung in the air between them. But before Lexa could speak, Indra moved a single step forward and looked at Clarke incredulously. _“_ _Sky girl?_ _”_ Clarke's eyes flashed dangerously and she shifted her gaze away from Lexa to look at Indra, lazily tilting her head to the side. “Indra.”

The general looked at Clarke in shock. “ _You_ are the High General?!” Clarke rocked back onto her heels, seeming to be entirely at ease in Lexa’s tent. But in a different way than she had been before. She was not comfortable based on trust, as she had been three years ago. Lexa knew that Clarke did not trust her, not after her betrayal at the Mountain. No, Clarke was comfortable because she was confident in her own skills. Which made sense, but Lexa did not know why she seemed  _so_ at ease. Three years of training could hardly lead to someone being as powerful as herself or her General.   


It was curious indeed, and Lexa watched Clarke closely, deciding to allow the conversation to play out. “ _Clearly_ ,” Clarke replied, sarcasm coloring her tone. “Did you not hear Roan announce me?”  _Roan?_ Lexa immediately noticed that she called the Prince by his given name and not by his full title. Were they close? Associates, friends,  _lovers?_ Lexa knew that it was not important right now and she ignored the strange feeling in her stomach, focusing on the conversation between Indra and Clarke. She would deliberate the information later.

Indra looked skeptical. “But you are still just a sk-“ Clarke cut her off. “If you call me a sky girl again Indra, I will slit your throat before you can even reach for your sword.” Lexa stilled at the unexpected threat, watching attentively as Clarke continued, voice low and menacing. “I have not been _‘_ _just a skai gir_ _l’_ for years,  _General_ ,  and make no mistake, my heritage does not impair my ability to crush you in battle. Call me that again and you die."

She shifted her gaze back to make eye contact with Lexa as she continued, voice so silky sweet that Lexa's blood froze. "That is a promise, and  I never break my word.” Clarke raised an eyebrow, the gesture clearly convaying the wordless message;  ‘ _unlike you.’_ It was  very evident that she had not been forgiven. Lexa had entirely expected it, given that Clarke had never returned, but it was still unfortunate. A bad relationship with Clarke - with the  _High General_ \- was the last thing she needed, and the very last thing she wanted.

Clarke maintained their eye contact as she continued to speak to the General. "Is that all,  _Indra_ ?” Indra opened her mouth to retort, seething over the claim that Clarke could kill her so easily. A claim that Lexa doubted as well, but did not say anything in response to. She knew that they would know of Clarke's capabilities soon enough. "No-" Clarke cut her off before she could continue. " _Good_ ."  


Clarke addressed Lexa before Indra could speak, ignoring the enraged General. “Now that  _that_ is done with, I assume you wish for me to assemble my army, Commander?” Indra growled at Clarke’s dismissal of their conversation, eliciting a faintly satisfied look from her, but the General did not speak. It was not her place to respond for the Commander.

Lexa did her best to maintain her expressionlessness as she raised her chin slightly, speaking to Clarke for the first time in three years. “Yes. How long will it take you to prepare your gonas?”  _Your_ gonas. Now that she had revealed herself, Lexa knew full well that Clarke had gonas; she _was_ the  High General , after all, head of the entire Azgeda army. But it was something that Lexa had never expected to say to Clarke, and her throat tightened as Clarke casually lifted a shoulder. “That depends on the amount of gonas I need. How many do you require?"

She still could not believe that Clarke was the  _High General_ and that they were talking about  _ her  army _ , but Lexa did not show any of her thoughts, focusing on answering the question. Boudalan had brought five hundred, Sangedakru four hundred, Delfikru three hundred and fifty, Ingranrona six hundred... she did a quick calculation in her head. “At least five hundred gonas.” Clarke nodded once, icy blue eyes meeting her own. “My army will be ready to leave in less than two days.”

Lexa blinked. That was far faster than she had expected. Preparing an entire army for war in only two days was nearly unheard of, and she could not refrain from asking, “Just two days?” Clarke shrugged smugly. “My army is not known as the strongest without cause. Among other reasons, we have perfected the art of quick travel.” Based solely on the extremely high number of decimated Raider camps that her scouts had found, she did not doubt it. And those had been just the camps found near the border. Lexa knew that there had to have been many more attacks than that.

But despite her burning desire to ask, _to know_ everything that had happened to the woman in the past three years, she did not allow herself to ask such questions so soon. That would come later. So instead, she simply inclined her head in acknowledgment. “Then we march for Polis in two days.” Clarke nodded and began to turn towards the entrance, but Lexa called her back. There was one more thing she needed to say. “Clarke.” She paused, slowly turning back around to face Lexa once more. But Clarke spoke before she could. "It's Klark now, _Commander_."

Lexa's next words were stuck in her throat for the briefest of moments as she looked down at Cl-  _Klark_ . She had hoped that there was still some of Clarke kom Skaikru in her, but the woman had had even switched to the Azgeda pronunciation of her name. Lexa knew full well that she had changed - that much was clear enough in both her appearance and attitude - but she had not expected it to be by this much.

Yet in spite of her inner turmoil over the situation, Lexa merely nodded, ignoring Klark's impudent tone far too easily for her own liking. It was evident that some of her weakness for the woman remained, which  _could_ be problematic now that they were enemies once more. But Lexa knew that she was fully capable of seperating her feelings from her duty. She would not allow it to become an issue.

Lexa spoke, driving away any further thoughts on the matter. “Klark," she corrected, before moving on with her statement. "We will be working together to coordinate the placement of Azgeda’s gonas in Polis. You will be expected to meet with me before we depart.” Lexa was fully capable of organizing the army herself, but she had to study Klark further, and working together would force her to tolerate Lexa’s presence. She knew that she held none of Klark’s loyalty, and it was important that she knew everything about the High General to prevent any unwanted surprises.

Lexa knew that Klark despised the idea, though a clenched muscle in her jaw was the only sign of her feelings on the matter as Klark nodded curtly. “Of course. The messengers will know where to find me.” She raised an eyebrow. “Will that be all, Commander?” It was strange to hear Klark address her by only her title, but Lexa ignored the feeling of disgruntlement and raised her chin. “Yes. You are dismissed.” There was so much more that she wanted to ask her, so much that she wanted to  _say_ , but Lexa would not do such things with Indra nearby. She had no other option but to let her leave and save the questioning for another time.

Klark inclined her head towards Lexa, but there was no deference in her expression. Her blue eyes were still as cold as ice, and the insolent smirk that adorned her face only served to counteract any respect that the gesture would have shown. Lexa knew that it was entirely intentional - Klark was too smart to do anything without reason - but she could only stare at her departing back as the High General swept out of the tent. 

She did not know how to handle this new version of Clarke - this entirely new  _person_ . Lexa would have to watch her closely in the coming weeks. Would have to analyze Klark all over again, now that it was exceptionally clear that any of her past knowledge of the woman was no longer true. Klark was not Clarke, and any lack of knowledge about the woman was dangerous. Understanding Klark was crucial. Lexa  _had_ to be able to predict her actions now that she was so unpredictable.

* * *

The tent flap fluttered shut and Lexa exchanged a glance with Indra, who let out a long breath. "The Skaikru will be shocked when they see her again. She is very...  _different_ ... than the girl we once knew." An extreme understatement. Klark was now the High General of Azgeda, a shocking fact that had still not fully sunk in. Everything that the High General had done... that had been Klark. Klark had defeated Pahn with what she now knew to be little over a year of training, had led countless attacks on the Raiders, had killed  _thousands_ of people.

And it was not the sheer enormity of the number that daunted her - Lexa had done the same, had at least been  _responsible_ for as many deaths. No, it was the fact that the girl she had known, the one so  _against_ violence, had willingly killed that many people. Clarke’s evolution into High General Klark was striking enough that it shook Lexa to her core. But it was not Klark being the High General that was the worst news. It was what having her in that position meant that would cause the most trouble.

Lexa leaned back in her throne to look down at Indra. "Yes, they will be. But the Skaikru are not my concern. You know what this revelation means." The General pursed her lips and nodded gravely. "The Ice Queen has control over Wanheda." Yes, and there was nothing she could do about it. Not when Klark was already the High General, already in the spotlight. 

She knew that the Queen would use Klark in an attempt to gain more power, and Lexa would have to work against her schemes while also dealing with a war. It was inconvenient, and would undoubtedly hinder her plans. 

Indra crossed the tent to stand in front of her, and spoke with thinly veiled irritation. Lexa could see that she was still infuriated by Klark's claim that she could easily best her in a fight. "She may be the High General, but will you do nothing about her insolence, Heda?" Lexa raised an eyebrow but decided against reprimanding her.  


Indra's ire had clouded her judgment, and the General was fortunate that Lexa was in a forgiving mood. "She has been in Azgeda for three years. It is important that we understand Klark, and the best way to do so is to allow her to speak her mind." Indra nodded, wisely deciding not to question her further.

Once her General had left the tent, Lexa picked up her knife, flicking it between her fingers. She would learn more about the High General and her capabilities soon enough, but that thought did not sate her burning desire to know everything. Not in the slightest. There was far too much that Lexa didn't know about Klark. Nothing of her skills, nothing of her time in Azgeda, nor how she had managed to rise into power. Klark was an enigma, and no matter her feelings towards the woman, she was one that Lexa  would  be solving. 

A lack of knowledge was dangerous, and Lexa would not rest until she was sure of the threat Klark posed. 

* * *

**Klark**

Roan appeared by her side as she exited the tent, and they strode through the Trikru camp, heading for the castle. She opened her mouth with the intent to tell him about the meeting, but before she could say anything, Klark spotted Raven standing by the entrance to her tent, staring at them with her mouth open. Shocked to see her coming from the Commander's tent, she assumed. Raven did not know anything yet, so her confusion at Klark's presence in the camp was understandable.

Noticing that her attention was focused elsewhere, Roan followed her gaze and snorted. "She could catch a bird with her mouth open that wide. Do you know her?" She nodded and turned away from Raven. "We were friends when I was a part of Skaikru." Klark moved to continue towards the castle, ignoring Raven, but paused midstep when she realized that Roan had not moved. She turned back, eyes narrowing when she saw that Roan was still studying Raven, who had since turned away. "What are you doing? Let's go." He shook his head slowly and her brows knitted with confusion as the corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk.

"I think i'll go and introduce myself. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, right?" Klark's eyes widened, her cold, confidant mask slipping. "Wh- Roan no!" she hissed. "Don't you  _dare!_ " He confidantly ignored her and wiggled his eyebrows, striding straight towards where Raven was standing with Octavia, who had just slipped out of her own tent.  _Fuck_ . She had never regretted her friendship with Roan more than she did right now, stalking behind him like a wraith as he approached her former friends.

She contemplated knocking him out and dragging him all the way back to the castle, but it would draw far too much attention to her. Roan was lucky that they were so close, because she kindly refrained from killing him as they neared the two Skaikru women, both of who were watching them approach with confused expressions. Octavia looked startled. "Klark! What are you doing here?" Roan looked back at her, raising his brows in surprise. She hadn't told him about the events in the tavern, and he was smart enough to know that there was no way that they would know the Azgeda pronunciation of her name without having talked to her. 

He looked back at the two girls, and she knew him well enough to recognize the expression he was wearing. In the Azgeda tongue, she hissed, "Roan I will fu-" He cut her off, visibly holding back a smirk with immense difficulty. "I see that you have already met Azgeda's esteemed High General." 

Their eyes widened in shock at the revelation and Klark grimaced internally, wholly regretting her decision to allow him to live as he continued. "I am Prince Roan, an  _associate_ of Klark’s, and it is a  _pleasure_ to meet you." She could no longer hold back a scowl as she stared at him incredulously.  _Why did he say it like that_ _?_ Octavia and Raven both stared at them, frozen as their eyes flicked back and forth between the Prince and the High General of Azgeda that stood before them.

Not giving them any time to speak, Roan continued, "From your expressions, I will take a leap and guess that Klark did not tell you of her  _position_ when you met." Raven slowly shook her head and he nodded sympathetically. "She does often  _forget_ to tell people things." Klark’s eyes flashed. That was enough of that.

Her initial plan to drag him back to the castle had never sounded better, and she knocked him to the ground with a well placed kick to the back of his knee, preventing him from speaking. He grunted at the unexpected attack and looked up at her with faux offense from where he was sprawled on his back. “That’s enough, Roan.” she said in the Azgeda tongue, scowling down at him. “Go wait over there.” She nodded towards a cluster of tents.

He laughed once before rolling into a sitting position, unfazed. “I trained you well, didn’t I?” he said in English, raising an eyebrow at the two Skaikru women before switching languages. “Fine, but you are going to tell me everything.” Klark held out an arm, pulling him to his feet before she shoved him towards the castle, not allowing him the time to say anything else. Roan had done his job far too well, and now the Skaikru girls knew more than she wanted them to. And this time she knew that they would be telling the Commander of the information Roan had revealed. 

She swiftly turned back towards Raven and Octavia, both of who were staring at her again, mouths open in shock. “H- _High General_? ” Octavia croaked out. “ You’re the High General?” When Klark simply nodded, Octavia just stared at her in disbelief. She supposed that it was very unexpected, but Klark wanted to get going. She didn’t have the time to talk to them now. “I take it you understand what that means?”

She knew that Indra would have taught Octavia about all the clans in her training as a sekon. And when she nodded, Klark did so as well. “Good. I have to go begin preparations with my army, but-” Raven cut her off. “Does that mean you’re coming back with us?” Klark raised an eyebrow. Raven should know better than to interrupt her like that, now that Roan had so kindly revealed her position to them. 

Klark didn’t answer until Raven muttered an apology, deeming a punishment unnecessary. “Yes, but not to stay. I will be returning to Azgeda after my duties are fulfilled.” She knew that they had more that they wanted to say to her, but Klark had too much that she needed to do to care. She didn’t wait for either of them to say anything before adding, “There will be time to talk in the future, but I will be very busy for the next few days, so only come to me if it is of the upmost importance. I’ll see you later.” Klark lifted a hand in farewell before turning and leaving them behind once again.  


* * *

She prowled towards where Roan was standing and did not stop as she grabbed his arm, dragging him towards the city. Once they had made it a few paces, she looked over at him angrily. “You asshole! They already know more than we want them too!” He smirked at her. “Ha! You know that the Commander will be doing everything in her power to find out everything about you. Let her ponder over what has been already revealed instead of approaching you with questions.” 

It was... not a bad idea. Especially considering that Klark did not want to deal with the Commander any more than she had to. She hit him in the shoulder anyway, hard enough to make him stumble. “Do that again and you don’t come to Polis with me.” He lookin at her in indignation, placing a hand over his chest. “You would leave  _me_ behind, Klark? I am shocked.” She snorted, rolling her eyes as they neared the exit of the Trikru camp. “Yes.” He let out a shocked gasp, but Roan knew that she was not serious. As if she would ever leave her brother behind. 

He childishly stuck his tongue out and she looked at him incredulously before smirking and doing the same. Neither of them bothered to look back, where they would have seen Indra watching them intently from where she now stood beside Octavia; her gaze not leaving their retreating backs as she leaned over to ask her sekon something, eyes narrowed as she observed them carefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, Clexa finally met! It will definitely take Klark a while to warm up to Lexa but we all know it will happen eventually. 
> 
> Happy new year everyone and let me know what you think of the chapter!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than usual but I’m posting it anyways

Present time: November 2152

** Klark **

Little over an hour had passed since her meeting with the Commander, and Klark continued to push it to the back of her mind, saving the deliberation of their encounter for later. She would discuss it with Roan and Ontari, but not until her army had been notified about the summons. They were going to war, and like always, war preperations came before everything else. 

Klark walked into the war camp, relishing the chill that lingered in the air. It was cold enough that she could see her every breath, and the overcast sky promised a fresh coat of snow sometime in the coming days. 

Unfortunately, instead of secretly fighting in the knee-deep snow with Roan and Ontari, Klark would be leading her gonas into the Trikru territory, where the snow was known to be dirty and half-melted before it had even stopped falling. Truly dissapointing, but she could do nothing about it. They had been summoned to war in the south, and there was no avoiding it anymore.

All four of her Generals were already waiting around the table as she swept into her meeting tent. None of them showed any clear emotion on their expressions, but there was an air of resignation as they waited for her to speak. None of them truly wanted another war, and they all knew what was coming. 

Still, she took the time to meet each of their eyes before she spoke, moving past Ontari faster than usual as certain memories resurfaced.  _Damn_ . She ignored the strange feeling in her stomach and looked down at them, exuding an excellent imitation of confidence as she spoke. “As you know, the Commander is here to summon the Azgeda army. Generals Ontari and Selera will be accompanying me to the Capitol.”

Her two strongest Generals. Azgeda had an image to maintain, after all, and she was fortunate enough to be entirely confidant of where their loyalties lied. "We leave for Polis in two days. You are to get your gonas to begin preperations as soon as this meeting is over." Two days was a short time frame, but the gonas were fully capable of finishing the war preperations that quickly. It was not very difficult with all six hundred of them helping. 

Both women nodded and Klark turned towards the other two Generals. "Generals Arah and Tholman, the two of you will remain in Anolia and protect the clan in my absence. I will send for more gonas if there is a need, but unless that happens, you will continue your duties in Azgeda until we return." 

She would already have six hundred gonas, but Klark knew full well that sometimes more were needed. Especially since they were facing an unknown threat. "Am I understood?” They all nodded and Klark motioned towards the tent flap, not bothering to ask if they had questions. Her orders were clear. 

The Generals filed out of the tent and she waited for a moment before following them, unsurprised when Ontari appeared beside her. They walked together in silence for a few seconds before Ontari asked, "What did the Commander say?" Klark glanced over at her as they neared the training areas, aware that she would not have the time to explain everything now. "She was  very surprised to see me. I-" Klark cut off as a bell rang, summoning all of General Selera's gonas to their assembly area. 

They exchanged an exasperated glance, both knowing that they had to do the same. "I will tell you and Roan everything later. Meet in my training area after you begin your preperations?" Ontari nodded and split away from Klark, leaving her to walk the rest of the way alone. 

When she got to her training yard, her gonas were obviously expecting her presence after hearing both Ontari and Selera summon their gonas. Like her Generals, they knew what was coming. The Commander's presence in Azgeda was never a good sign, and Klark knew that much of her army had already correctly guessed what it meant for them: war. 

Her army had immediely stopped training upon her arrival, parting to allow her access to the raised wall that acted as a stage. She smoothly stepped up, looking over the mass of gonas that stood at attention before her, waiting expectantly for her to speak. 

And after letting the silence linger for a moment longer, she did, voice echoing loudly through the air. "The Commander has summoned Azgeda to war in the south! Today, we begin war preparations. In two days time, we march for Polis!” The army roared in approval and her lips quirked into a half-smile, the thunderous sound swelling in her chest.

Klark let it last for a long moment before raising her hand, silencing the yard in an instant. She spoke again,“You know your duties. Report to your captains if there is an issue but  _otherwise_ ...”

Her gonas stared up at her in anticipation for what she was about to say, and Klark let the tension in the air thicken before she thrusted her arm into the air and yelled. “Kom war!” There was a deafening cheer as the army echoed her cry, and Klark could have sworn that the ground shook with the force of it. 

It was the best feeling, that sound. A mix of power, fear, and danger; but also the profound exhilaration that came with it, the loyalty and strength that made her army stand out. 

Azgeda had been called to war, and her gonas were entirely prepared to decimate their enemies. 

* * *

**Raven**

Raven jumped a good two feet into the air, scared out of her mind at the  _second_ ferocious cry that shook the air, twice as loud as the first one had been.  _Fucking hell._ Distracted from her pacing once again, she stumbled over to her bed and sat down heavily, taking a deep breath in an attempt to still her racing heart.

Whatever that cheering was, it was obviously not unusual because nobody was reacting to it. She still could hear people chattering in the streets, entirely unperturbed by the animalistic noise that just came from across the city. 

Whoever that was could go to hell. They hadn’t even left yet and the army was already yelling loud enough that they probably hear them all the way in  _Arkadia_ .  _So fucking unnecessary_ . Even if it  _was_ Klark’s army it was still... _Oh shit._ That was _Klark’s_ army. Was she there? Were they cheering for _her_?! Was- “ Raven! ”

Raven managed not to jump into the air again - but only barely. She turned her head to glower at Octavia as she poked her head into the tent, disrupting her train of thought. “ _What?_ ” Her tone was harsh, annoyed after being scared again so soon, but Octavia didn’t seem to notice. Or, more likely, she just didn’t care. “Did you hear that?” Raven just looked at her, raising an eyebrow incredulously. Of course she had _heard_ it. It had been fucking loud as hell.

Octavia rolled her eyes, easily understanding whatever expression that Raven wore. “Never mind. I’m going to check it out, do you want to come?” Raven stared at her disbelievingly. Was she  _insane_?  One of the most important things that they had been taught about the Ice Nation was that they did not get along with Trikru, and now she wanted to go waltzing straight into their  _war camp?_!  Hell no.

Raven opened her mouth to protest the idea, but Octavia slipped out of the tent before she would say anything, guessing what Raven was about to say before she could say it. 

Raven opened her mouth to yell for Octavia to come back, but stopped herself resignedly. Octavia had been clear enough; she was going, with or without Raven. And as much as she loved Octavia, there was no way in hell that she was going in there. At least Octavia could fight. Raven was practically useless with her brace, and she didn’t even have her gun. 

So Raven let her leave and instead stood up to resume her pacing, faintly hearing Indra’s voice ask, “Octavia, where are you going?” and the start of a whispered conversation before her thoughts turned back to Klark.  High General  Klark. The High General Klark whose army just managed to scare the shit out of her from across an entire  city . Raven shook her head in disbelief. 

This whole situation was fucking crazy. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys... eheh long time no see amirite? 
> 
> The end of the semester resulted in a shit ton of schoolwork which meant no writing, so sorry it took so long to update lol. 
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is a lot shorter (and a little boring) than normal but I couldn’t figure out what to add so I’m posting this (lacking inspiration ig). I’ll probably end up deleting this current version and reposting the longer chapter when it’s done. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and leave comments/ kudos if you liked it! (But comments especially because they are like the only inspiration I have to write so


	18. NOTICE

NOT A CHAPTER, BUT READ ANYWAYS! (It’s important)

* * *

  
Hey y’all. So this fic is already hella long and I haven’t even gotten to the main storyline. 

Meaning: it’s way too long. On this path, I’d probably end up with a 300,000+ word fic and, well, that speaks for itself. 

I love the story that I am writing (and everything I have planned), though, so I’m going to be _rewriting_ it. NOT abandoning it, so Yay!

*cue uncertain cheering from the audience*

I know the idea is a bit weird, but chapter one of Orion 2.0 is done and it’s already way better than the original.

I kept going back to change things so they would make sense, and rewriting it just makes the most sense. It might be a while until I can catch up to where this fic is now, so if you don’t want to read the revised version then it will be kinda like a hiatus until I catch up.

So... stay tuned for Orion 2.0!

\- the100clexa237

P.S. Any ideas of what Orion is? And yes, it is something important to the story.   
  



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